WhatsApp is renowned for its consistent changes to try and make the world’s biggest messaging app that touch better. We here at Android Police cover WhatsApp stories day in and day out as there are always new elements being added to the app, or someone has spotted a feature in the beta of the service.
Back inMay this year, WhatsApp officially rolled out itsChat Lock featureto give you further security for conversations you may not want anyone to see on your phone. It allows you to lock any individual chat in your WhatsApp, whether it is a 1:1 or a group message, and the chat then disappears from your main view.
You’re then able to scroll up on your WhatsApp home screen to see a specific folder for your Locked Chats. No one would know it’s there unless they were to manually check. When you attempt to access the folder, it’s hidden behind either a fingerprint or a passcode unlock. The feature also allows you to block notifications from your home screen so any private information wouldn’t be shared without you having to turn off all WhatsApp notifications.
The feature is only six months old, but WhatsApp has begun rolling out new improvements to Chat Lock. From what the service has said, I think the two of these combined makes it the best innovation the messaging app has had in years.
Theupcoming updatefor WhatsApp takes the feature to new heights. It allows you to hide your Chat Lock entirely from your phone. You can then set a passphrase that you’d put into the search bar, and that will unlock your secretive chats. The example used in WhatsApp’s materials is the word “strawberry” followed by the corresponding emoji. This allows anyone who needs to truly hide their messages from someone who has access to their phone to do so properly rather than the sort of visible version that the original Chat Lock offered.
The truth is not many people knew about Chat Lock in the first place. I’ve spoken to multiple friends over the last year who didn’t know it was a feature, but as knowledge of it grows, this new change for those who need to hide certain messages is going to be a huge positive.
I’ve been using Chat Lock ever since it was first introduced. I’ve had a year full of secretive events that I’ve wanted to hide from loved ones such as planning for surprise birthday parties, and Chat Lock has proven integral to that process. My anxiety around someone messaging me asking for a reminder of the plans when my loved ones were looking at my phone was entirely gone as the chats were hidden behind this lock.
Worst case scenario, the person looking at my phone would see a notification that said “1 new notification” rather than a chat preview. That may result in an awkward conversation with my significant other, but that’s better than the entirety of my surprise plans being ruined.
While it’s great for my use case, I’m not the type of user that benefits from Chat Lock the most. According toWhatsApp’s own marketing, it believes this feature will be of use for those experiencing domestic abuse. An ad campaign in June this year showed someone using the feature when an abuser demands to use their phone.
For anyone in a threatening life situation, this new change to ensure it’s hidden entirely from view is exactly what they need. The original version of Chat Lock was good for arranging a birthday party, but WhatsApp’s new update makes it useful in far more serious scenarios. The changes to Chat Lock are rolling out now, but they may take a while longer to land on your phone.
