WhatsApp said Thursday that it’s rolling out a secret code feature that’s meant to provide additional protection to sensitive conversations.
The Meta-owned chat app’s new feature builds on its Chat Lock feature, which hides conversations in a folder that requires its own password, fingerprint or Face ID to unlock.
The secret code feature allows for the option of requiring a separate password specific to the conversation thread in order to view and respond to messages within it. Conversations locked behind a secret code can also be placed in the Chat Lock folder, or they can remain available from the standard chat list.
WhatsApp said the secret code feature is beginning to roll out, and will be available globally in the coming months.
The privacy option’s launch follows other updates in the texting space this month. That includes Apple announcing that its Messages app will support the RCS standard sometime in 2024 — a development that may improve texting between iPhone and Android devices by providing the potential for modern features like typing indicators and high-quality media sharing.
Apple, however, has said that texts sent over RCS will continue to be fundamentally different from texts sent over its iMessage service, including keeping the green bubble labels. This will likely leave plenty of room for services like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and other chat apps that offer the same texting features to its users regardless of what phone they use.
