WhatsApp launches new password protected feature

WhatsApp users will be able to guard their “most intimate conversations” with a new password protected feature to hide messages, parent company Meta has said.

Chat Lock will allow individuals to “lock and hide” private exchanges by removing them from the main inbox into a folder only accessible by password or biometric security, such as a fingerprint.

Meta announced the development on Monday as the global launch began.

Chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post: “New locked chats in WhatsApp make your conversations more private.

“They’re hidden in a password protected folder and notifications won’t show sender or message content.”