WhatsApp Unveils Chat Lock Feature To Bring Enhanced Security To Your Private Messages
Meta (Facebook) is introducing a new security feature to its WhatsApp chat service that allows users to lock messages behind an additional layer of security, even while the app is open. Meta designed this feature for situations where a phone might be used by multiple people (say taking photos at a party), and the device owner doesn’t want certain messages to be visible from prying eyes.
The new locking feature is called Chat Lock, and it essentially functions as a secure folder housed inside Whatsapp. When a user locks a thread with Chat Lock, that thread is taken out of the inbox and put inside a secure folder that is protected with a password and/or biometric signature, preventing anyone without the right credentials from seeing threads housed inside this folder. Locking threads also hides the message contents and the sender’s identity when a notification is received.

Chat Lock is rolling out to WhatsApp users at this very moment, so this feature should already be available to most WhatsApp users that have updated their devices. If you don't have this feature, make sure the app is up-to-date in the Google Play Store. Meta says this is the first implementation of Chat Lock and it will be receiving new capabilities in the upcoming months, including custom passwords for individual threads and chat locking for companion devices.