WhatsApp Working on Chat Lock Feature for Web Users

WhatsApp introduced a new chat lock feature for its Android and iOS users in May 2023. However, the feature was not rolled out to its web client. Finally, after a long wait, a new report has revealed that the instant messaging platform is working to bring the feature to WhatsApp Web as well. Earlier it was reported that web users will also get a redesigned sidebar. Now, a leaked photo of the chat lock feature shows a separate icon placed on the new sidebar.

A copy of WABetaInfo Report According to, WhatsApp is working on bringing a Chat Lock feature to allow users to lock personal chats on the web client and put it behind an extra layer of security. This is helpful when you don’t want others to know about a particular conversation. The leaked photo shows a padlock icon next to the Store Chat and Started Message icons. This makes it likely that locked messages will be shown inside this tab and another layer of security may be added to access the tab.

However, there are no reports on how this feature will work, so information about it is not available. However, Android and iOS counters use passcode, fingerprint and face ID authentication as inputs to unlock the chat. Passwords or passkeys on the web client are an authentication method including a password that allows users to login with biometrics.

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

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