WhatsApp announces Chat Lock feature

In 2019, WhatsApp introduced a biometric lock feature that protected unauthorised users from opening the messenger app.

Now, the company is bringing the Chat Clock feature, which forms a secondary layer of security that protects prying eyes from reading one-to-one or group chatting within WhatsApp.

This feature lets users protect their personal conversations with a password and secures them in a separate folder. There's more. When someone messages the user and the chat lock is activated, the sender’s name and the content of the message will also be hidden, making it impossible for people who have taken another's phone to view something else.

For now, WhatsApp Chat Lock can be unlocked with the device password or biometric, such as fingerprint or FaceID on iPhones.

Chat Lock feature on WhatsApp. Credit: Meta

However, the Meta-owned company has plans to bring an option to allow users to set custom passwords, unique to WhatsApp on one device. Also, be able to lock the same chat session on a companion device (via a multi-device feature).

Here's how to lock chat on WhatsApp:

Step 1: You can lock a chat by tapping the name of a one-to-one or group. Then select the lock option.

To reveal these chats, users have to just slowly pull down on the inbox and enter the phone password or scan their fingerprint/FaceID.

In a related development, WhatsApp is testing full-fledged Channels feature similar to the Telegram app. This will help users widen their reach to a global audience.

It will have a verification status (with a green checkmark), which brings authenticity to the channel, particularly if the celebrity or organization, or media company is genuine or not.

Also read | WhatsApp testing full-fledged Channels feature

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