WhatsApp has rolled out a new Chat Lock feature, allowing users to secure individual chats and enhancing user privacy. This feature becomes handy when you must lend your device to someone but want to keep your conversations private.
Not only can you lock chats, but WhatsApp also conceals the content of locked chat notifications. If a new message arrives from a locked chat, the notification will show a new message alert, not revealing the message content. Once you open the app, the new message is stored safely in the Locked folder.
Here’s how you can enable the Chat Lock:
- Access WhatsApp and choose the chat you want to secure.
- Go to the chat’s profile section.
- Scroll and tap on the Chat Lock option, then enable it.
- Use your phone’s registered fingerprint to lock the chat.
Your secured chats will appear in the Locked Chats section at the top of WhatsApp’s main page.
Despite these benefits, the Chat Lock feature has a few shortcomings. There’s a noticeable lag when unlocking chats with the fingerprint sensor, leading to slow access to the locked folder.
Another issue is the potential security gap: if the Chat Lock folder is left open, anyone using your WhatsApp can view your private chats. Hence, ensure you close the folder before exiting WhatsApp. Unfortunately, the lock doesn’t automatically apply to older chats even after closing the app.
Therefore, before using another app on your phone, always close the Locked folder. Although this is a bug that WhatsApp can fix with a software update, a temporary workaround is to use the app-wide fingerprint lock feature instead of relying solely on the chat lock feature.”
