Meta is now rolling out “Chat Lock”, a new WhatsApp privacy feature that allows users to prevent others from accessing their most personal conversations.

Chat Lock will create a new folder which can be locked with password or biometric methods like fingerprint.

You can ensure the privacy of your chats by choosing the lock option after tapping on the name of a one-on-one or group chat.

“Locking a chat removes that thread from your inbox and puts it behind its own folder accessible only with your device’s password or biometrics, like a fingerprint,” WhatsApp said today.

It will also automatically hide locked chat details in notifications to prevent others from snooping around while using the phone.

“We think this feature will be great for people who occasionally share their phone with a family member, or in those times when someone else is holding your phone at the exact moment a very special conversation comes up.” , the company added.

To view locked chats, gently pull your inbox and authenticate with your password or the biometric ID you used when locking the chat.

Today, WhatsApp added that it plans to further expand Chat Lock’s capabilities to provide users with additional functionality.

These upcoming additions include locks explicitly designed for companion devices and the ability to set a custom password for your chats, allowing the use of a separate password separate from your phone credentials.

whatsapp too introduces end-to-end encryption seven years ago and began rolling out end-to-end encrypted chat backups to iOS and Android five years later, in October 2021, to block access to saved chat content.

In December 2021, WhatsApp expanded the platform’s privacy control features by adding messages that disappear by default to all new chats.

Meta says video calling and instant messaging platform WhatsApp is now used by more than two billion people worldwide.