WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has launched a feature that users of the app have been waiting for since its emergence more than a decade ago, because they want to keep their conversations private from intruders, whether they are close to strangers.

Thanks to WhatsApp's new feature, users can now be sure that their conversations are safe from prying eyes.

The new feature, called Chat Lock, allows you to password protect your private conversations.

Locked messages are locked in a separate folder with the sender's name hidden, even for others who have access to your phone.

The feature was announced by Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg on his official Facebook page, and aims to enhance the privacy of users in WhatsApp chats in a more secure way than before.

WhatsApp said in a blog post that "our passion is to find new ways to help keep your messages private and secure."

How to use the new feature

To lock the chat:

  • Open WhatsApp.
  • Tap the name of an individual or group chat.
  • You'll now see a lock option, which asks you to enter your device's password or biometrics to secure that chat.

After doing this step, new messages that come to the user in this chat or from that person will become hidden, and can only be seen after slowly swiping down to show the locked chats folder, and the user just has to click on the folder and unlock with the fingerprint to see the new incoming messages.

The "ChatLook" feature is now available to all WhatsApp users, whether they are users of the "iOS" system (iOS) or "Android", and the company said that it plans to enhance the feature over the next few months, so that it can be used on companion devices when using one WhatsApp account on multiple phones, in addition to the possibility of creating a custom password for chats different from the password of the phone itself.

WhatsApp explained in a blog post that "the chat lock takes the thread out of the inbox and puts it in its own folder that can only be accessed using your device's password or biometrics, such as a fingerprint." It automatically hides the contents of that chat in notifications as well.

WhatsApp added that "this feature is great for people who have a reason to share their phones from time to time with a family member, or those moments when someone else keeps their phone at the same moment you receive a private message."

ChatLock and other new options are rolling out "over the next few months," according to the blog post.