WhatsApp has recently introduced a new privacy feature that goes by the name Chat Lock.
As the name suggests, Chat Lock can help users create a password-protected folder to hide important and confidential chats. To lock an entire chat thread, you can tap on the name of the user or group and then select the Chat Lock option.
Similar to the archived chats, you can access the password-protected folder containing the hidden chats by pulling down your WhatsApp Inbox screen.
At the time of writing this article, the Chat Lock feature relies on your phone’s built-in authentication such as biometrics or a PIN to lock the chats.
However, Meta has stated that in upcoming months users will have the ability to create a custom password for the folder which will be separate from the device password.
Undoubtedly this feature can come in handy in several situations. For instance, if you give your smartphone to someone else for a short time period now he or she won’t be able to access your hidden chats.
Chat Lock will be available to all mainstream smartphone and desktop OSs that support the official WhatsApp app.
