Handing your unlocked phone to someone else can be stressful - you never know what might happen. Maybe they'll stick with the single photo of your dog you're trying to show them, or maybe they'll see that you'd rather just see your own private messages. While many messaging apps can't do anything about it, WhatsApp can: Chat Lock lets you hide any chat you want and keep it from prying eyes.
Chat lock works exactly like you think: when you lock a chat, it hides it from anyone who happens to be viewing your WhatsApp. Not only that, but it will also block notification previews for that chat. This means you'll need to check these chats from time to time to see exactly what's being sent, but you also won't be at risk of someone seeing an embarrassing or compromising notification from one of them.
You can lock any chat, including individual conversations as well as group conversations. The feature works perfectly with WhatsApp's screen lock feature, which requires a second step of authentication before opening the app.
How to lock any chat in WhatsApp
First, click on the relevant chat, then click on the chat name at the top. Here you will see the new "Chat Lock" option: after clicking on it, you will need to verify yourself to complete the lock. This will be how you unlock chats in the future: If your phone uses a fingerprint scanner, you'll scan your fingerprint. If it uses Face ID, you'll use Face Scan. You can also use a PIN if you prefer.
Once a chat is locked, it moves to a new "Locked Chats" folder hidden in the home screen. Click this folder to authenticate yourself and you'll be able to access any chats you've locked.
How to sync chat locks between linked devices
One of the major drawbacks of Chat Lock over the past year is that it only works on your primary device. When switching to a linked device to answer a WhatsApp conversation, you'll find that all threads are public, including the ones you've locked on the main device.
That's changing: WhatsApp is currently testing the ability to access chat locks across linked devices, according to WABetaInfo. This feature is available as of WhatsApp Beta version 2.24.11.9: If you register your Google account in the WhatsApp Beta program here, you will be able to download the latest beta version as if you were just updating the app.
After installing the latest beta version of WhatsApp, you should see the Locked Chats folder appear on all linked devices. However, in order to access them on other devices, you need to set a "password" on the main device. If you don't do this, you'll get an alert telling you the same thing when you click on the folder on the linked device.
To set a password for a locked chat, go to WhatsApp on your main phone, open Lock Chat, then tap the three dots in the upper right corner and select Chat Lock Settings . Here, click Password and set your code. Once set up, you should be able to enter this code on your linked device to access locked chats.
Eventually, WhatsApp may roll out this feature to all users. But for now, it's limited to beta testers, so if you want to keep your locked chats safe on other devices, stick with the beta version.
