WhatsApp rolls out secret code for Chat Lock feature: Here’s how it works

Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has announced a new Secret Code feature developed specifically for locking chats, giving users the option to choose a password or phrase to keep their chats secure.

With this new feature, users can also keep their chats safe using your phone's PIN, or passcode, or by scanning their face or fingerprint.

Earlier this year, the company introduced a feature called Chat Lock, and now it's even better! With this feature, you can hide your private chats using a secret code. This means that when you give your phone to a friend or if someone else gets your phone, they won't see your personal conversations.

As per the official announcement reported by Gadgets360, when you use a secret code to hide your chats, they won't show up in the main list of chats. You can only see these hidden chats when you enter the secret code, making the messaging platform even safer.

Here’s how to set security code for locked chats on WhatsApp

Here's how you can do it:

• First, go to the list of locked chats and tap on the three dots at the top.
• Then, choose "Chat lock settings" and turn on "Hide locked chats."
• Now enter a secret code that you can easily remember.
• Once it’s done, your locked chats won't be visible in the main chat window of the app. Currently, WhatsApp displays a shortcut for locked chats when you swipe down on the chat screen. You can access these locked chats using your fingerprint or Face ID.

How is it different from existing chat lock feature?

Once you've set a secret code, the only way to see your hidden chats on WhatsApp is by entering the same secret code in the search bar in the app. This will show the conversations protected by the Chat Lock feature, but only until you exit the app.

Here’s how to remove security code from locked chats

If you don't want to keep your chats hidden on WhatsApp, follow the steps mentioned below:

• Go back to the original Chat Lock.
• Open the list of locked chats using your secret code.
• Now tap on the three dots, then Chat lock settings, and then turn off the "Hide locked chats" toggle.
• This will disable the Secret Code feature, and your chats will be visible in the main chat window again.

WhatsApp also mentions that you don't have to go into individual chat settings to lock a chat. You can just press and hold a chat to lock it.

While the secret code feature is being released to users now, it will take a few months to be available worldwide. There's no information about whether WhatsApp plans to introduce the secret code feature to WhatsApp for Desktop or when that might happen.