Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced a new feature called 'Chat Lock' for WhatsApp users that will allow them to protect their conversations in a protected folder on the application.
Currently, the WhatsApp Chat Lock feature may be available to some beta testers only. However, the feature will be soon applicable to everyone in the future updates of the application.
WhatsApp's chat lock feature enables users to lock their conversations through a passcode or biometric authentication.
As reported by WaBetaInfo, "The feature is now official as it has been announced through the official Meta Channel by Mark Zuckerberg. Since this is an official announcement, it means the feature will be released to more people on the stable release of the app very soon. To lock a conversation, open their chat info and you should see an option called 'Chat Lock' in case the feature is available for your account."
With this feature, locked chats will appear in the “Locked Chats” section and can only be opened using passcode, fingerprint, or Face ID authentication. It’s important to note that locked chats provide an additional layer of privacy by disabling author and message preview in notifications. For added privacy, media shared in locked chats isn’t automatically saved to the phone’s gallery, reports WaBetaInfo.
Even if someone else has access to your phone, you can make sure that private information and sensitive information in a chat stay secure by locking it. This degree of control improves the general security of your conversations and safeguards your privacy. Although Mark Zuckerberg released a screenshot of WhatsApp for Android in the official Meta Channel, the same feature is also available on WhatsApp for iOS.
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