Rehan Shahid 
Oct 31, 2025
WhatsApp on Thursday launched a new privacy feature, which allows users to back up their chats using their face, fingerprint or screen lock code.
According to the company, with a simple tap, WhatsApp extends the same security used for personal chats to your backups, as it ensures your saved chats remain safe and protected.
You can easily set up a passkey to open your conversations in a safer way, eliminating the old-fashioned passwords. WhatsApp noted that you don't need to remember long and difficult passwords; however, passkeys use your face, fingerprint, or screen lock code.
It should be noted that you can also back up your WhatsApp data to Google Drive (for Android) or iCloud (iPhone).
How to set up passkeys on WhatsApp
According to WhatsApp, you can secure your chat backups now with either a password or a unique 64-digit passkey.
Firstly, you have to ensure that your chats are being backed up:
- Go to 'Settings' in WhatsApp.
- Tap on 'Chats' and then 'Chat Backup'.
- You can choose to back up to your Google Drive or iCloud; however, you can also set an auto-backup schedule.
Once your backup is done, you can encrypt it to stay secure.
- In the same 'Chat Backup' menu, tap 'end-to-end encrypted backup'.
- Follow the steps to create your password or a passkey.
Encrypting your WhatsApp chats backup is important for privacy, as without encryption, your chats are at risk of being hacked.
