Here’s a relatively minor update from WhatsApp, though an interesting one nonetheless.

Today, WhatsApp is rolling out “View Once” functionality for voice messages, in addition to text updates.

Which really should be called “Listen Once” instead, but whatever.

As per WhatsApp:

“We introduced View Once for photos and videos back in 2021 to add another layer of privacy to your messages. Today, we’re excited to announce you can now send a voice message that will disappear once listened to.”

As it sounds, View Once for voice will enable you to record voice messages that will disappear after being played one time.

That could be handy for sharing secrets, or sensitive information, while it’ll also provide more capacity to use WhatsApp’s tools for a wider range of communications.

Audio options are particularly valuable in regions where many languages are spoken, but not always as widely read. In India, for example, there are hundreds of local dialects, and while many people can understand what’s being said in conversation, they aren’t always as fluent in text form.

As such, providing more audio options caters to these variances in communication, which could make this a valuable addition.

“As with all your personal messages, WhatsApp protects your voice messages with end-to-end encryption by default, and View Once is just another example of our continued privacy innovation.”

Again, it’s not a game-changer, as such, but it’s another option in the WhatsApp toolkit that will have specific niche value and application.