WhatsApp will soon let you lock private chats to your main phone: Here Is How
WhatsApp is working on a new privacy feature to help users control some of the most private conversations on their system. The messaging platform is developing an app called Restricted Chat that features some chats on the phone that are only available to the user’s primary phone.
The new feature is still in development and not yet available for beta testing. WABetaInfo, the WhatsApp feature tracker, said the new feature was introduced to address the restriction of private conversations on linked devices.
WhatsApp already allows users to connect to computers, tablets and other phones. It’s so easy to share messages from one device to another, but it also allows the user to go beyond the phone to the home desktop. In fact, the new feature will give a little more control over chats that users don’t want to take to the phone.
How would WhatsApp’s restricted chat feature work?
WhatsApp's Chat Lock technology will be the basis for the new functionality. Chat Lock currently allows you to store your discussions in a private folder that can only be accessed with a secret code or your device's authentication mechanism. Notifications from restricted chats also hide the messages' content and contact details.
This privacy protection appears to be strengthened by Restricted Chat. This feature would restrict the chosen chats to the primary mobile device instead of just hiding the phone discussion. This means that the restricted chats would be harder to access via connected devices.
The change could be particularly useful for those who use WhatsApp on multiple devices. WhatsApp already supports linked computers, tablets and companion phones to enable the same account from multiple devices.
For example, one user could put WhatsApp on a laptop for everyday conversations but keep a particularly sensitive chat on the main smartphone. More control over where some conversations can be seen would also be achieved.
But the exact steps for enabling Restricted Chat have not been confirmed, as the feature is still in development. WhatsApp may change the name, interface, and functionality before it reaches beta testers or regular users.
WhatsApp already has Chat Lock and Secret Code.
Even before the new feature is available, WhatsApp users can already secure individual conversations in Chat Lock. A locked conversation is removed from the regular chats list and placed in a folder called Locked Chats. Users need to sign in to the phone's security protocol to view them.
Chat also has a secret code option for Chat Lock. This allows users to create a separate password for their locked conversations. The Locked Chats folder in WhatsApp can also be hidden and can be found if the secret code is entered by the user in WhatsApp's search bar, and their conversations are protected.
WhatsApp has also been expanding its privacy controls as it has become more and more connected in-house. Its multi-device system enables users to access the phone without going to the main one, and messages and other data are encrypted end-to-end.
The new restricted chat feature could thus fill a specific privacy gap created by this convenience. Users would have the option of keeping particularly sensitive conversations tied to their primary device instead of making them available everywhere their WhatsApp account is linked.
And yet there is no firm release date. Restricted Chat is still in development, and users may have to wait until the feature is activated on WhatsApp’s Android or iOS apps.
