A new Chat Lock feature for WhatsApp was unveiled by Mark Zuckerberg. When someone writes to you when a chat is locked, the sender’s name and the message’s content will also be concealed. This feature enables you to password-protect your most private chats and keeps them in a different folder.

Finding innovative solutions to keep your messages private and safe is their passion. With the new Chat Lock feature, which they are delighted to introduce to the users, you can further secure even your most private discussions.

When you lock a chat, the thread is removed from your inbox and placed in a secure folder that only you and your device’s password or biometric, such as your fingerprint, can open. It hides automatically the contents in the chat in notifications. 

This feature will be especially useful if you occasionally need to share your phone with a family member or if someone else is holding your phone when a really important message comes in. By pressing the name of a group or one-to-one conversation and choosing the lock option, you can lock that chat. Pull down your inbox gently to reveal these chats, then input your phone’s password or biometric to access them.

In the coming months, they will be adding more Chat Lock settings, such as locking for companion devices and allowing you to choose a custom password for your chats that is separate from the one you use for your phone.