WhatsApp Reportedly Working on Secret Code for Locked Chats on Web Client

Secret codes for locked chats are already supported on WhatsApp for iOS and Android.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 20 February 2024 14:50 IST

WhatsApp Reportedly Working on Secret Code for Locked Chats on Web Client

Photo Credit: Reuters

WhatsApp will soon improve the privacy of users who send and receive chats using a web browser

Highlights

WhatsApp lets users hide chats behind a secret code on smartphones
The same feature is now making its way to WhatsApp Web
Locked WhatsApp chats can only be unlocked using the secret code

WhatsApp has been spotted working on an improvement to the Chat Lock feature that is reportedly in development on the web version of the popular messaging application. Users can already lock specific chats on WhatsApp for iOS and Android that are hidden behind a secret code — a feature that can improve the privacy of users on the platform. The service is expected to bring the same functionality to WhatsApp Web users, according to details shared by a feature tracker.

Spotted by feature tracker WABetaInfo on the latest version of WhatsApp Web, the recently launched secret codes for locked chats functionality will soon make its way to the web client. The feature is expected to improve WhatsApp users' privacy and is currently in development, which means that even beta testers will not be able to try it out on the latest version.

Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

The feature is expected to work in the same manner as the one available on WhatsApp for Android and iOS, allowing users to lock and hide some chats from the main list of chats, behind a secret code. This code can be a word, a phrase — including emoji and special characters. Users can then enter the same secret code to show the list of locked and hidden chats.

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Using this feature, WhatsApp users will be able to safeguard some of their chats from prying eyes on a shared laptop or desktop computer where more than one user has access. Just like the Chat Lock feature on WhatsApp for iOS and Android that was rolled out last November, these chats are only displayed when the secret code is entered correctly.

On the mobile versions of WhatsApp, users will see locked chats after the secret code is revealed, but only until the app remains open. Re opening the app will hide the chats once again, requiring the secret code to be entered once again. Users can also disable the secret code feature and revert to the older chat lock functionality that requires biometric authentication.

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Further reading: WhatsApp Web, WhatsApp Locked Chats, WhatsApp Web features, WhatsApp

David Delima

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As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More