Earlier this year, WhatsApp introduced a chat lock feature to help people protect their most sensitive conversations. Today, it introduced a passcode feature, an additional way to protect these chats and make them harder to find if someone gains access to your phone or if you share your phone with someone else.
With a passcode, you'll now be able to set a unique password different from the one you use to unlock your phone, giving your locked chats an extra layer of privacy. You'll also have the option to hide the "Locked Chats" folder from your chat list so they can only be discovered by typing your passcode into the search bar. If this doesn't suit your needs, you can still choose to have them appear in your chat list. Now, when you want to lock a new chat, you can long-press to lock it instead of going to the chat settings.
WhatsApp explained: "We're thrilled that our community has been so impressed by the chat lock feature, and we hope the passcode makes it even more useful for them. The passcode feature is rolling out today and will be available globally in the coming months. We're excited to continue adding more functionality to the chat lock feature to help people protect their privacy, so we invite you to share your feedback."