WhatsApp Reportedly Working on a Chat Lock Feature for Web s 1i534g Technology News

The WhatsApp Web Chat Lock feature is reportedly similar to the one released for Android and iOS last year. 6s5261

Written by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 1 February 2024 14:22 IST

WhatsApp Reportedly Working on a Chat Lock Feature for Web s

Photo Credit: Reuters 3v6d2p

The WhatsApp Web Chat Lock feature is reportedly in development and could be available in a future update

Highlights

The feature will reportedly get a dedicated tab denoted by a padlock icon
The WhatsApp Web Chat Lock feature could have two layers of security
WhatsApp Web is also expected to get a new interface upgrade soon

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WhatsApp Web. Earlier, it was reported that Web s would also get a redesigned sidebar. Now, a leaked image of the Chat Lock feature shows a dedicated icon being placed on the new sidebar.

According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on bringing the Chat Lock feature to allow s to lock individual chat on the web client and place it behind an additional layer of security. This is helpful in case you do not want others to know about a particular conversation or want to send sensitive information. The leaked image shows a padlock icon next to the Archived Chats and Starred Messages icon. This has led to the speculation that the locked messages will feature inside this tab, and a second layer of security can be added to access the tab.

WhatsApp Web Chat Lock feature
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

Since there are no reports on how this feature will function, details about it are not available. However, the iOS counterpart uses code, fingerprint, and Face ID authentication as input to unlock the chats. On the Web client, s or even keys, a less authentication method that lets s with biometrics, can be used for this purpose.

Apart from this, WhatsApp Web is also expected to get a redesigned sidebar and a new colour scheme for the dark theme. An earlier report stated that the colour change was done to reduce eye strain in low-light environments, while the new sidebar was added to create design symmetry across all of the company's platforms.

WhatsApp is also planning several new features for its mobile applications. For iOS, WhatsApp is reportedly working on adding for keys, which was previously added to its Android counterpart. All iPhone models running on iOS 17 are expected to third-party access to keys. This means iPhone XR or newer models with the iOS 17 update would be the only ones to activate keys on the WhatsApp app.

On Android, the Meta-owned app is working on a nearby file-sharing feature, as per a separate report. This is expected to work similarly to Android's Quick Share (previously known as Nearby Share) feature. The WhatsApp feature appears to let s set themselves to be visible to other nearby s without revealing their phone number to non-s. It is also expected to be end-to-end encrypted to maintain privacy.

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Further reading: WhatsApp Feature

Akash Dutta Email Akash Dutta

Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen ing his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing ionate opinions on food. More