WhatsApp has taken several steps to bolster the security of its platform and your security. As a way to keep your private chats safe and secure from prying eyes, the messaging serviceintroduced Chat Lock in May 2023. The feature adds an extra layer of security for your personal chats, ensuring no one but only you can see them. Chat Lock’s initial implementation left a lot to be desired, though, as it was limited to using your phone’s biometric authentication or screen lock. WhatsApp is now introducing several changes to Chat Lock, making it a lot more functional.
Firstly, instead of jumping to the Chat info screen of a conversation to lock it, you can long-press on the conversation and select theLock chatoption. Secondly, WhatsApp is introducing a secret code functionality for locked chats. You will no longer have to rely on your device’s fingerprint or PIN/pattern to access a hidden conversation. Instead, you can set a unique password, which can include an emoji, to access the Chat Lock folder.
It was easy to access the locked chats in WhatsApp. You just had to swipe down from the chat list window. Thankfully, WhatsApp is also improving this implementation by letting you hide your locked conversations behind a secret code. you’re able to only access the hidden chats by entering the secret code in WhatsApp’s search bar, making Chat Lock a lot stealthier.
Theseimprovements to Chat Lock were first spotted in late October, so the messaging service has quickly rolled out these improvements to the public.
Given that WhatsApp is regularly used by millions of people daily for sensitive and private conversations, these improvements to secure and hide your private chats are a welcome addition. Like your regular WhatsApp conversations, all chats hidden using Chat Lock are end-to-end encrypted. They are also backed up to Google Drive when you upload your WhatsApp chat backups to the cloud.
WhatsApp has been adding several new features to its platform every month. In October itself, themessaging service rolled out multi-account support, passkeys integration, improved text formatting, and more. More recently, WhatsApp took another step towardsadding email address verification, providing an alternative way to access your account when you cannot receive incoming messages.
Upgrade to the latest WhatsApp release for Android to access the Chat Lock improvements. If they don’t show up, you might have to wait for a few more days (or weeks) for the rollout to complete.
