WhatsApp's Chat Lock feature will let users password protect their private conversations

Last month, WhatsApp introduced a slew of features to strengthen its security offerings. This includes automated security codes, device verification, and extra checks while moving accounts to another device.

WhatsApp has on May 15 introduced a new feature called Chat Lock to help users password protect specific private conversations, as the company looks to bolster the security features of the world's largest messaging application.

The feature will allow users to lock chats that will take the conversation thread out of the inbox and put it behind its own folder that users can access with their device password or biometrics such as fingerprints.

It will also automatically hide the sender's name and the contents of the message in notifications as well, the company said.

A screenshot depicting WhatsApp's Chat Lock feature (Image Source: Meta)

One can lock chats by tapping the name of the person or the group and selecting the lock option. To access these chats later, one can slowly pull down on their inbox and enter their phone password or fingerprint. The feature is rolling out to WhatsApp users on both iOS and Android across the world.

This feature will come in handy when people share their mobile phones with their family members or friends or in moments when their phone is with someone else when a private message arrives.

In the coming months, WhatsApp stated that it will add more Chat Lock options including locking for companion devices and the ability for users to create custom passwords for their chats.

This feature comes a month after the Meta-owned messaging application introduced a slew of features to strengthen its security offerings. This includes automated security codes, device verification, and extra checks while moving accounts to another device.

Whenever users want to move their WhatsApp accounts to a new device, a new feature called Account Protect will now ask them on the old device to verify whether they want to take this step as an extra security check, in order to alert any unauthorized attempt to move the account to another device.

On April 25, WhatsApp also started allowing users to log into the same account on up to four phones, thereby fulfilling a long-requested feature addition to the messaging application.

In the past few months, WhatsApp also rolled out new updates including making groups larger, giving admins the ability to delete messages sent in the groups they manage, making it easier for people to see groups in common with others and giving admins more control over who can join a group.