WhatsApp introduced Secret Codes to its Chat Lock facility.
The app currently puts conversations in a separate folder that can only be opened with a user’s phone password or biometric login. Now, they will be able to add a separate second password. Creating an additional password will also cause the locked folder to disappear from the inbox as an optional extra layer of privacy.
“With a secret code you’ll now be able to set a unique password different from what you use to unlock your phone to give your locked chats an extra layer of privacy,” the company wrote on their blog.
“You’ll have the option to hide the Locked Chats folder from your chat list so that they can only be discovered by typing your secret code in the search bar,” the post continued. “If that doesn’t suit your needs, you can still choose to have them appear in your chat list.”
And the app is also making it easier to lock up chats.
“Whenever there’s a new chat which you want to lock, you can now long press to lock it rather than visiting the chat’s settings,” the post explained.
Secret Codes can feature numbers, letters, punctuation marks and even emojis.
The update follows two other changes recently made to the chat app. The desktop version recently acquired the ability to send, according to the company, “self-destructing photos and videos,” which autodelete after being opened once. A beta version gives select users access to AI assistants.
