WhatsApp Fixes Bug in View-Once Media Feature

In August 2021, the end-to-end encryption messaging app, WhatsApp launched the ‘View Once’ function for images and videos, then in December 2023, it expanded to voice communications.

Whatsapp, one of the safer messaging app choices on the market right now is Meta’s WhatsApp. End-to-end encryption, two-step authentication, group privacy settings, view-once media, and other features are available on the platform. However, the final item on the list has already raised issues.

A new vulnerability that enabled the recipient of a view-once media file to see it endlessly, even after it had been viewed and closed within the conversation, was discovered late last week. The longevity of its active exploitation is uncertain at this time, despite the fact that the defect appears to have been patched for the time being. We were unable to reproduce the vulnerability on Android, and it was only present on the iOS version of WhatsApp.

Before sharing, the sender must hit the “1” icon to activate the functionality for every particular piece of material. When the View Once option is activated, all shared material vanishes once the receiver has viewed or played it once. Recently, there has been internet discussion over a defect in a feature that causes endless viewing. According to a recent report, the business has quietly implemented a solution for it.

The view-once media issue resolution on WhatsApp was a silent one. The view-once media problem that lets receivers access the time-limited media after a single viewing has been fixed by WhatsApp, according to a report by the Android Police. According to the research, WhatsApp fixed a flaw that let iOS users see fading media more than once and get around the ‘see Once’ limitation vulnerability whereas Android versions did not.

Meta was aware of the problem internally until the weekend, when it was “working on a fix to address it,” which appears to have gone live on Saturday or Sunday, as user Ramshath later pointed out in a Medium article.

According to the research, iOS users might take advantage of this problem by choosing Storage and Data in Settings, then managing storage. They may then touch on the name of the contact who shared the missing material, find them, and see the storage information. Despite the feature’s intended one-time viewing limitation, repeated access would be possible by sorting the media by ‘Newest,’ which would return at the top of the list of previously opened ‘View Once’ media.

This is a step by step way to exploit operations during its active period.

• Get a ‘view once’ picture or piece of media. The material cannot be seen again after it has been opened and closed within the conversation.

• Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management.

• Find the contact who shared the missing material by scrolling down. Press their name.

• Sort by: Most recent.
• At the top of the list is the purported view once media is present in all its splendor.

The Android Police crew was unable to see the “view once” media more than once this week, but they were able to internally duplicate this capability on Thursday, January 23. As a result, the team came to the conclusion that Meta quietly fixed the fault by releasing a bug patch over the weekend. The problem has not yet been openly addressed by the firm.

Interestingly, the research notes that in September 2024, a similar problem with view-once media was observed for WhatsApp online users. Although there have been instances of Web users being able to see and store the material, users are currently not permitted to view the “view once” media on Web versions of the app. Later that year, in December, the issue was resolved.