Doha: As a step toward making WhatsApp conversations more private and secure, the Meta-owned app announced Chat Lock on WhatsApp, which allows users to protect their most intimate conversations behind an additional layer of security. Beginning today, the company will begin rolling out Chat Lock globally on WhatsApp.
Locking a chat thread moves it out of the inbox and into its own folder, which can only be accessed with the device’s password or biometric, such as a fingerprint. It also hides the contents of that chat in notifications automatically.
This feature, according to the company, will be ideal for people who occasionally share their phones with family members, or in situations where someone else is holding your phone at the exact moment an extra-special chat arrives.
Users can lock a chat by tapping the name of an individual or group chat and selecting the lock option. Pull down on your inbox slowly and enter your password or biometric to reveal these chats.
“Over the next few months, we’re going to be adding more options for Chat Lock, including locks for companion devices and creating a custom password for your chats so that you can use a unique password different from your phone’s,” WhatsApp said in a statement.
