WhatsApp gets a new function: the messenger now has a chat lock!
“It offers additional protection for your very personal conversations,” the developers promise.
Blocked chats now end up in their own folder. This is protected either with a device password or fingerprint or face scan. And: Everything from the secret chat is automatically hidden in the notifications.
WhatsApp wants to offer the function especially for users who sometimes share their cell phone with others – such as family members.
Here’s how it works: Tap the name of a contact or group, then select Block. The blocked chats can be opened again by slowly pulling down the inbox. Then password or fingerprint/face scan will be requested.
This is what the new function looks like
In the future wants WhatsApp to expand the function even further. For example, the possibility of a separate password for the chats should be added.
Recently there had been renewed criticism of the widespread messenger. Twitter boss Elon Musk (51) raged: “You can’t trust WhatsApp!”
The tech mogul shared the post of a Twitter employee. He had made that public WhatsApp allegedly used his phone’s microphone while he was sleeping. The suspicion: does the messenger secretly listen in even when you are not using your smartphone at all?
The Facebook group Meta, which operates WhatsApp, disagreed. The developers tweeted: “In the last 24 hours we have been in contact with a Twitter engineer who has reported an issue with his Pixel phone and WhatsApp. We believe this is a bug in Android that is misattributing information in the Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and fix the issue.”
As a rule, new WhatsApp functions are gradually rolled out shortly after the announcement.