To prevent prying eyes from peeking at your private messages, WhatsApp already lets you lock the app with a password or biometrics (fingerprint or Face ID). But the messaging company is now expanding this feature to allow users to lock individual chats and hide them away from view. What this means is that even if someone manages to get into your WhatsApp, they won't be able to see locked chats. That being said, if you are someone who has been eagerly waiting for this feature, let's learn how to lock and hide WhatsApp chats on your Android and iOS phone.

Note: The chat lock feature in WhatsApp has been officially announced by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on May 15, 2023. It is no longer limited to beta versions. It's rolling out to all Android and iOS users right now.

For this tutorial, we tested this feature on WhatsApp for Android (version #2.23.9.22). The steps remain the same on iPhone, so let's look at how to enable the "Chat Lock" feature on WhatsApp:

Additionally, you'll still see a notification for new messages in locked chats, but those messages will be hidden in the notification area. That chat is also hidden, as we explain below.