WhatsApp couldn’t send media

For a stretch on August 3–4, WhatsApp users couldn’t send photos, videos or stickers, even though texts worked fine. Images would attach but hang on a loading screen before showing ‘retry,’ and while some older photos still sent, newer ones failed. Outage trackers showed a spike across India, the US, the UK and Mexico — a platform-wide issue, not local connectivity. Story: WhatsApp media outage.

Service recovered after several hours, though Meta didn’t explain the cause. A separate India account-review issue circulated at the same time but wasn’t necessarily linked, and WhatsApp said it restores wrongly flagged accounts quickly.

Part of what made it memorable was how ordinary it felt: because texts kept flowing, users assumed their own connection was at fault and wasted time toggling networks before realising WhatsApp itself was the problem — a sign of how central the app has become to daily routines.

WhatsApp is working on a new feature for iPhone that would let users send text messages that can only be viewed once. The idea is similar to the app’s existing view-once option for photos, videos, and voice messages. After the recipient opens the message and reads it, it disappears.

The feature is still in development, but early reports suggest users will be able to activate it by long-pressing the send button and choosing a special “send as view once” option. Recipients won't be able to copy, forward, or share the message after viewing it. WhatsApp is also expected to block screenshots and screen recordings for these messages.

The option is being designed for both private chats and group conversations, though it is not expected to come to channels. The feature appears aimed at people who occasionally share sensitive information and want fewer permanent records left behind in chat histories.

Final Note:

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