WhatsApp has announced Chat Lock, a new privacy feature that lets you hide your most private conversations behind an extra layer of security. Chat lock works with your device password or biometric and keeps your locked messages behind its own folder. Conversations locked behind Chat Lock automatically hide their contents when receiving a chat notification.

To lock a chat, simply tap the one-to-one or group chat name and select the lock option. To reveal the chats, go to the locked folder in the chats feed and enter your password, fingerprint, or biometric lock option. “We think this feature will be great for people who have reason to share their phones from time to time with a family member or those moments where someone else is holding your phone at the exact moment an extra special chat arrives,” WhatsApp says.

Chat Lock is rolling out globally and should be available to everyone in the coming days. WhatsApp says it will be adding more options for Chat Lock, such as locking in companion devices for users that have multiple devices for one account and the ability to create a custom password for locked chats that is different from the primary password of a phone.

The Meta-owned company recently rolled out improvements to polls and the ability to add captions to forwarding.

Image: WhatsApp