## Overview

On **WhatsApp**, a customer can **delete a message for everyone** or send **view-once** media (a
photo or video that disappears after being opened). By default, those actions would also erase or
hide the content from your support view — leaving your team with an incomplete history.

Conversa Labs solves this with **three per-inbox options** (all **on by default**) that guarantee an
audit trail and privacy under your control:

- **Preserve deleted messages** — keeps a deleted message **intact** in the panel, under a "deleted
  message" banner.
- **Allow message deletion** — decides whether agents can delete messages from the conversation.
- **Capture view-once** — captures and renders view-once media in the panel.

The options apply to the **WhatsApp** inbox and are adjusted in **Inbox Settings**.

## Prerequisites

- Be an **administrator** to change the options in Inbox Settings.
- Have a connected **WhatsApp** inbox (delete-for-everyone and view-once are WhatsApp features).
- Agents only see the resulting behavior — the configuration is done by the administrator.

## Step by step

### Administrator — adjust the three options

1. Go to **Settings → Inboxes** and select the WhatsApp inbox.
2. Open the **Settings** tab (inbox options).
3. Find the three privacy and audit switches:
   - **Preserve deleted messages**
   - **Allow message deletion**
   - **Capture view-once**
4. Turn each one on or off according to your policy and click **Save**. All ship **on** — keeping
   them that way reproduces the platform's default behavior.

### Agent — how the result appears

- **Preserved deleted message**: when the customer deletes a message for everyone, the bubble keeps
  its original content and attachments, showing a **"deleted message" banner**. You still have the
  full record for audit.
- **Captured view-once media**: a view-once photo or video is **rendered normally** in the
  conversation, instead of the "available on the phone only" notice.

## Settings & options

| Option | On (default) | Off |
|---|---|---|
| **Preserve deleted messages** (`preserve_deleted_messages`) | A delete-for-everyone message stays **intact** in the panel (content + attachments) under an **audit banner** ("deleted message"). | The content is **hidden** — only a marker that the message was deleted remains (WhatsApp parity). |
| **Allow message deletion** (`allow_message_deletion`) | Agents **can delete** messages from the conversation. | The action is **removed from the bubble** and the API **rejects with 403**. |
| **Capture view-once** (`capture_view_once`) | Incoming view-once media is **captured and rendered** in the panel. | Keeps the **"available on the phone only" placeholder** — the media is not rendered. |

> The three options are independent and defined **per inbox**. Adjust each inbox according to the
> channel's sensitivity.

## Use cases

- **Audit and compliance**: preserving deleted messages ensures no customer can remove evidence of a
  negotiation or complaint from the support history.
- **Stricter privacy policy**: turning off view-once capture to respect the customer's ephemeral
  intent in sensitive inboxes.
- **Operational control**: turning off message deletion so agents cannot remove records from the
  conversation.

## Tips, limits and best practices

- **Safe default**: all options ship on — you only need to change them to **restrict**.
- Exclusive to **WhatsApp** (delete-for-everyone and view-once). Other channels do not have these
  actions.
- **Preserve** and **capture** increase the audit trail; **turning them off** moves the behavior
  closer to native WhatsApp (ephemeral). Choose according to your policy.
- Turning off **Allow message deletion** only affects the **agents'** action in the panel; it does
  not change what the customer does on their own phone.

## Troubleshooting

- **A deleted message's content is gone**: the **Preserve deleted messages** option is off on that
  inbox — turn it on in Inbox Settings.
- **Agent gets a 403 error when deleting**: the **Allow message deletion** option is off — that is
  the expected behavior; turn it on to allow the action.
- **View-once media shows as "available on the phone only"**: the **Capture view-once** option is off
  on that inbox — turn it on to render the media.
- **I do not see the options**: you must be an **administrator** and the inbox must be **WhatsApp**.

## See also

- Forward messages (article "Forward messages").
- Attachments, voice, emoji and reactions.