waited

How do you send a photo that disappears?

Updated

In short To send a photo that disappears, choose view once as you send it: your friend can open it only once. For it to erase itself even if it’s never opened, also turn on auto-delete in the chat. WhatsApp, Instagram, Signal and Telegram offer this as an option; Snapchat and waited do it by default.

How do you do it, app by app?

  • WhatsApp: pick the photo, then tap the “1” icon next to the send button to make it view once. To erase the whole chat after 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days, turn on disappearing messages in the contact’s info.
  • Instagram: in the chat, tap the camera, take your photo, then choose “View once” before sending it. Vanish mode erases messages when you both leave the chat.
  • Snapchat: a Snap sent to a friend is deleted once viewed, or after 31 days if it’s never opened. Chat messages are deleted after viewing, after 24 hours or after 7 days, depending on the setting.
  • Signal: pick the photo, then tap the ∞ icon to switch it to “1x”, view once. The chat’s disappearing messages can be set from 30 seconds to 4 weeks.
  • Telegram: in a private chat, set the photo’s self-destruct option before sending it, so it opens only once. The chat’s auto-delete can be set to 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or another duration.
  • waited: nothing to set, every photo is view once and deletes itself by default. The details just below.

Sending a photo that disappears with waited, step by step

  1. Take your photo with the big 📸 button.
  2. Choose how long your friend will wait before seeing it, or ⚡ instant.
  3. Keep the defaults: view once, screenshots blocked, deleted after 7 days. For a shorter life, pick 24 hours in your sending preferences or in the conversation.
  4. Send. You can delete the photo at any time, even before it’s revealed.

Sending a photo that disappears after 24 hours

On waited, pick “24 hours” in your sending preferences, for all your friends or for a single chat: each photo is then deleted 24 hours after it’s sent, viewed or not, or a day after it unlocks if the wait is longer. On WhatsApp, turn on 24-hour disappearing messages in the chat; on Snapchat, set the chat to delete messages 24 hours after they’re viewed.

Before you send: what view once doesn’t prevent

A photo that disappears can still be photographed with another device and, depending on the app, captured on screen. Keep these photos for people you trust. All about screenshots and view once photos.

To compare these apps (view once, auto-delete, screenshots): the best disappearing photo apps.

Frequently asked questions

Can you delete a photo you’ve already sent?

On waited, yes, at any time, even before it’s revealed: it disappears everywhere, from our servers and from your friend’s side. In messaging apps, deleting for everyone is often time-limited, and doesn’t remove a copy already made.

Will my friend know the photo is going to disappear?

Yes: apps flag a view once photo, with an icon on WhatsApp or a label on Instagram, so you know you’ll only see it once. On waited, your friend also sees the countdown, if there is one, before they can open it.

Can you send a disappearing photo to someone who doesn’t have the app?

On waited, yes: send it as a link. It stays end-to-end encrypted, and your friend opens it once, in the app, after installing it.

Sources

Want to try it?

waited is free, on iPhone and Android.

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