Last updated: April 2nd, 2024 at 10:20 UTC+02:00
As most of you might know, WhatsApp for Android and iOS allows you to lock chats behind a passcode or biometric authentication. Once you lock a chat, the app also moves it from the regular chats list to the Locked Chats folder. This feature is very helpful for people who don’t want anyone else to see or access particular chats on the messaging platform.
Unfortunately, the feature is limited to primary devices and does not extend to linked devices. It means that if you lock a chat in WhatsApp on your primary device, it will still be visible in the regular chats list in WhatsApp on your linked device, and will be accessible without the need to enter a passcode or authenticate your identity using biometrics, which is quite frustrating. Well, WhatsApp is now working on a solution to that problem.
According to WABetaInfo, the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.24.8.4) on your linked device does not show those chats in the regular chats list that you had locked on your primary device. Instead, it shows those chats in the Locked Chats folder, and to access those chats, you will have to enter a secret code (not a passcode). You can create a secret code from the Chat Lock settings on your primary device.
With the latest feature, you don’t have to worry about anyone else seeing/accessing those chats on your linked device that you had locked on your primary device, enhancing your privacy and security on the messaging platform. We hope that WhatsApp extends this feature to WhatsApp for iOS, Mac, Windows, and the web to make sure that the chats you lock on your primary device stay locked on your linked device no matter its platform.