WhatsApp Will Now Let You Keep Your Sensitive Conversations Locked Behind A Secret Code

WhatsApp is adding another layer of password protection to keep your conversations private. After introducing the convenience of locked chats, the latest privacy-centric tool is secret codes, which let you set a unique passcode for chats so that they can't be accessed if someone gets access to your phone and manages to open WhatsApp.

All chats put behind a secret code are hidden from the main conversations list. Only when you enter the secret code in the search bar at the top will this chat appear. However, this is an optional system. You can choose to keep these code-guarded chats visible on the conversations home page.

To further ease the privacy pipeline, users will be able to put new chats behind the code wall by simply long-pressing on the chat bar in the list of conversations. The secret code feature has started rolling out today for WhatsApp users through the stable channel. It seems to be on the phased rollout train because the blog post says secret codes will be available globally "in the coming months."

In order to enable secret codes for WhatsApp chats, you will first need to activate the chat lock feature. Here's how to do it:

1. Open WhatsApp and long-press on a chat.
2. After selecting a chat, tap the three-dot icon to open the menu options.
3. In the menu dropdown, select Lock Chat.
4. Verify with the screen lock password for your phone, or authenticate using fingerprint or Face ID.

Once the chat lock feature has been enabled, all your protected chats will be hidden in a separate folder. Labeled Locked Chats, this folder will appear at the top of your chats list. Next, follow these steps to enable secret codes for your conversations:

1. Open the locked chats folder in WhatsApp.
2. Tap the three-dot menu button in the top right corner and select Chat lock settings.
3. On the next page, select Secret Code, set a password, and you're good to go.

Notification contents for locked chats are hidden, but remember that media auto-save is blocked. Also, enabling chat lock on one device won't apply to other devices where the same account is logged in.