Delete After Viewing

The challenge was simple— record your biggest secret, let the clip self-destruct, and watch the view count disappear with it. Except the app didn't delete. It archived. And someone's been leaking the most dangerous ones. When a viral "vanishing-message" trend sweeps through the country, teenagers trade honesty for attention—confessions, betrayals, and private moments uploaded in exchange for validation that only lasts eight seconds. But after a few of those videos resurface, the line between trend and threat begins to collapse. Maya Torres thought she was safe behind her screen. Now her own recording—the one she swore was gone—has returned with edits she never made, faces she doesn't recognize, and whispers that know her name. The app promises erasure, but what it really delivers is exposure: every deleted truth saved, sorted, and sold. As the leaks spread from phones to city billboards and public livestreams, paranoia turns communal. Friendships fracture. Secrets become currency. And the algorithm isn't watching for engagement anymore—it's watching for obedience. Delete After Viewing is a 400,000-word psychological-tech thriller about a generation raised on disappearing messages and permanent consequences. Told through confessional vlogs, leaked DMs, archived transcripts, and personal journal entries, it captures the noise, beauty, and dread of being seen in an age that never forgets. The messages were supposed to delete. They didn't.