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How to send a one time view photo, app by app

Turn view once on before you press Send. On WhatsApp, tap the 1 icon after picking the photo. On Instagram, choose View once before sending. On Messenger, tap Keep in chat until it says View once. On Telegram, set the timer to View Once. For a chat without it, or a PDF, send a one-time link.

Pick a file · Encrypted in your browser

Click or drag files hereTap to choose files

Up to 10 files · 50MB total

Expires in:

How it works in five steps

  1. Step 1: Choose the photo

    In the tool above, pick the photo; up to 10 files, 50 MB combined, fit in one link.

  2. Step 2: Pick an expiry

    If nobody opens it, the link expires after 1 hour, 24 hours or 7 days; the default is 24 hours.

  3. Step 3: Create the link

    Your browser encrypts the photo before upload and keeps the key in the link, after the #.

  4. Step 4: Paste it in the chat

    Send the whole link in WhatsApp, Instagram, iMessage, Discord or an email; the other person needs a browser, not an account.

  5. Step 5: It opens once

    When they download it, our server deletes it and the link stops working for everyone.

How to send one time view photo in WhatsApp

WhatsApp calls it view once. It covers photos, videos and, since December 2023, voice messages. It doesn't stay on, so pick it for every photo. The person has 14 days to open it; after they open it and leave the viewer, it can't be opened again and it isn't saved to their gallery. With their read receipts on, you see Opened.

WhatsApp's help pages say view once isn't available on WhatsApp Web or Windows. The same steps in Hinglish, with Instagram's too: one time view photo kaise bheje. The steps from WhatsApp's Android help page:

  • Open the chat or group chat.
  • Tap the attach (paperclip) icon, then Camera for a new photo or Gallery for one already on your phone.
  • Tap the 1 icon. When it turns green, view once is on.
  • Tap Send.
Hinglish
WhatsApp par photo chunein, '1' wale icon par tap karein, hara ho jaaye to Send dabaayein.
Name in the Hindi app
एक बार देखें

How to send one time view photo in Instagram

Instagram calls it a disappearing photo. It works only in the mobile app, not on computers, and only with people who follow you or have already accepted your messages.

On screenshots, Instagram's help pages disagree: one says screenshots are now disabled, and two others say the sender can see if one was detected. The steps, from Instagram's help page:

  • Open a chat from your messages, or start a new one.
  • Tap the camera icon at the bottom left.
  • Tap the circle to take a photo, or the photo icon at the bottom left to pick one from your phone.
  • Before sending, tap the icon at the bottom left and choose View once, View twice (one replay) or Unlimited views.
  • Tap Send at the bottom right.

Can I send one time view photo in Telegram?

Yes, in a one-to-one chat. Before sending, open the photo in Telegram's media editor and set how long it stays visible after it is opened, from View Once to 30 seconds. Voice and video messages can be view once too. In secret chats, the self-destruct timer works on every message.

Telegram's 2023 announcement says saving and screenshots will not work on self-destructing media. Its FAQ is more careful: it says Telegram will try to notify you if someone takes a screenshot. Telegram Premium users also have Disable Sharing, added in March 2026, which blocks screenshots and saving media in a one-to-one chat.

View once photo on Messenger, Snapchat and Signal

On Messenger, tap Keep in chat under your photo until it says View once, then send it. Meta says the other person can't save, forward, screenshot or screen record it. The feature is being introduced gradually, so you may not have it yet, and it isn't available on computers.

On Snapchat, photos go as Snaps. Snapchat's help pages say a Snap can be saved into the chat while it is being watched or straight after, and screenshots are allowed: the sender sees a screenshot icon. Snapchat also says the people who view your Snaps can always capture and copy them.

Signal's view-once media covers photos and videos, in one-to-one and group chats, on phones and on Signal Desktop. It is deleted from the chat once viewed, or 45 days after sending if nobody opens it. Signal describes no screenshot block or alert, and its Screen Security setting only stops screenshots on your own phone. Every app side by side: the view-once screenshot table.

One time view photo on iPhone, a computer, iMessage or Discord

On iPhone, view once works in WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. Instagram's and Messenger's help pages give the same text for iPhone as for Android, and WhatsApp's iPhone page gives the same screenshot rules as its Android one.

On a computer, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger don't offer it: WhatsApp says view once isn't on WhatsApp Web or Windows, and Instagram and Messenger say it isn't on computers. Signal's view-once media does work on Signal Desktop.

We haven't checked iMessage, Discord or X, so look at that app's own help page before you count on a view once option. A one-time link works in any chat that takes a link, from a phone or a computer: make it at nosus.foo, paste it, and it opens once in the other person's browser. For documents, see send a PDF as view once on WhatsApp.

Honest limits

  • The person downloads the photo, so their copy stays on their phone: the link is one-time, their copy is not.
  • A browser can't block screenshots, while WhatsApp and Messenger block them on view once photos inside their apps.
  • Whoever opens the link first uses it up, so send it only to the person you mean.
  • No app, view once included, can stop someone photographing the screen with a second phone.

Questions

How do I send a one time view photo in WhatsApp?

Open the chat, tap the paperclip and pick the photo from Camera or Gallery. Tap the 1 icon until it turns green, then tap Send. You choose view once again for every photo.

Can I send a one time view photo in Telegram?

Yes, in one-to-one chats. Before sending, open the photo in the media editor and set the self-destruct timer to View Once, or to up to 30 seconds. In secret chats the timer covers every message.

Can they screenshot a view once photo?

It depends on the app. WhatsApp and Messenger block screenshots of view once photos, Telegram says they won't work, Instagram's pages disagree and Signal doesn't say. In every app, a second phone's camera still works.

Can I send a view once photo from WhatsApp Web or a laptop?

Not on WhatsApp: its help pages say view once isn't on WhatsApp Web or Windows, and Instagram and Messenger don't offer it on computers either. Signal Desktop does. Or make a one-time link at nosus.foo on the laptop and paste it into the chat.

Can I send a PDF or document as view once?

Not in these apps: view once covers photos and videos, plus voice messages in some apps, and none of them lists documents. A NO SUS Burn File link takes up to 10 files, 50 MB combined, and opens once in any chat.

What happens if they never open it?

WhatsApp expires an unopened view once photo after 14 days, and Signal deletes one 45 days after sending. A NO SUS link expires after 1 hour, 24 hours or 7 days, whichever you pick.