You can now lock and hide specific WhatsApp chats; here is how

Users of the Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp will now be able to put specific chats behind a lock, making them only accessible by password or biometrics.

This is with the new Chat Lock feature announced Monday by the tech giant, which also owns Instagram and Facebook.

“Locking a chat takes that thread out of your inbox and puts it behind its own folder that can only be accessed with your device’s password or biometric, like a fingerprint. It also automatically hides the contents of that chat in notifications, too,” Meta said in a blog post. 

The company says the feature was developed for “people who share their phones from time to time with a family member” and also for those moments “an extra-special chat arrives” when someone else is holding your phone.

To lock a chat, all one needs is to tap the name of a one-to-one or group and select the lock option.

And to reveal the locked chats, you will slowly pull down on your inbox and enter your password or biometric.

Until now, WhatsApp users could only lock access to the entire app by PIN, password or biometrics.

Meta said the feature is rolling out globally on all devices beginning Monday.

At the same time, the company said it will be adding more options for Chat Lock in the coming months, including locks for companion devices and creating a custom password for your chats, different from a user’s phone password.