JOIN USWhatsApp for Android gets critical security feature
Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which is facing flak for the flawed security that allowed spy operators to use the Pegasus tool to snoop on people, has released a critical update for the Android version.
"WhatsApp is introducing a new feature for Android phones that allows you to unlock the app with your fingerprint. The feature provides an extra layer of security to prevent others from reading your messages," the company said.
Here's how to enable the fingerprint lock for WhatsApp on Android phone:
To enable it, Go to WhatsApp >> tap Settings >> Account > >Privacy >> Fingerprint lock. Turn on Unlock with fingerprint, and confirm your fingerprint.
Note: Users will get three options-- 1) Immediately 2) After 1 minute 3) After 30 minutes. Select any of them and it will automatically lock WhatsApp as per the chosen option.
As far as the iPhones are concerned, WhatsApp released the fingerprint feature way back in February 2019.
Not just the Touch ID-based Apple mobiles, even the iPhone X (and later models) with Face ID can also lock the WhatsApp chat.
If the Apple iPhones or Android mobiles fail to detect the biometric input, you can still access WhatsApp chat with secondary fallback security feature-- screen lock code/pattern.
In a related development, WhatsApp is planning to bring a Snapchat-like self-destructive message feature. It will be called the 'Disappearing Messages'. Once marked, the message gets deleted from the chat session after a set-time expires. This will also work with group chat as well.
As of now, 'Disappearing Messages' is available on WhatApp (v2.19.275) beta application for Android mobiles only. Soon, it is expected to be released for iOS-based WhatsApp beta on the Apple App Store.
Read more | WhatsApp to get this Snapchat feature
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