How To Lock WhatsApp On Your Android And iPhone

image credit - makeuseof.com WhatsApp is an app for sending messages that is proud of how safe it is. End-to-end security is used for all texts, chats, and video calls, so you can be sure that nothing you do in WhatsApp can be read or tracked. If your phone has it, you can make WhatsApp even safer by protecting the app itself with biometric protection, like fingerprints or Face IDs. This way, even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to read your WhatsApp texts. Also read - How to use WhatsApp on your Wear OS smartwatch

How to lock WhatsApp on Android

You can make sure that only you can open the app by using the fingerprint reader on your Android phone.

• Start WhatsApp on your Android phone or tablet.
• Tap the three dots in the top right corner of the screen, and then tap Settings.

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• Tap on Private.
• Tap the Fingerprint Lock at the bottom of the screen.

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• Tap the switch on the right of the Fingerprint lock screen to turn on Unlock with a fingerprint. 
• Touch the reader with one of the fingers you registered with the phone to confirm your fingerprint.
• Choose how long it will be before you have to scan your finger to get back into WhatsApp after closing it. You can pick Immediately, After 1 minute, or After 30 minutes.

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How to lock WhatsApp on iPhone

You can make sure that only you can open the app by using the fingerprint reader on your iPhone.

• Start WhatsApp on your iPhone.
• Tap on Settings.

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• Tap on Private.
• Tap the Fingerprint Lock at the bottom of the screen.
• Tap the switch on the right of the Fingerprint lock screen to turn on Unlock with a fingerprint. 
• Touch the reader with one of the fingers you registered with the phone to confirm your fingerprint.
• Choose how long it will be before you have to scan your finger to get back into WhatsApp after closing it. You can pick Immediately, After 1 minute, or After 30 minutes.

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Additional Security Measures For WhatsApp Chats

You can keep people from getting into your WhatsApp account and texts in other ways besides locking your phone. Here are some other ways to protect your whatsapp.

Enable disappearing messages

You can enable disappearing messages if you want to give someone a message that deletes itself after a certain amount of time. After that, any message you send will be gone in a day, a week, or three months, based on how long you give it. To enable disappearing messages:

• You can open WhatsApp on your phone or computer and start chatting with someone or join a chat that's already going on.
• Click or tap the name or phone number of the person you're talking with at the top of the screen.
• Scroll down and click on Messages that will not be saved.
• Decide how long your texts will be. You can choose from 24, 7, or 90 days.
• To save your pick, tap the arrow in the top left corner.

As soon as you turn on disappearing texts, WhatsApp will inform everyone in the chat. If you want to stop the messages from disappearing, just go through the steps again, but choose Off instead of a time limit this time.

Archive private conversations

You can archive sensitive conversations rather than deleting them to keep them private from WhatsApp prying eyes. The chats will be removed from the Chats page as a result, but you can always view and retrieve them from the Archived screen at a later time. The only way to archive a WhatsApp chat on Android is to long-press on the chat you want to hide and choose the Archive button, as shown below.

Enable two-step verification

When you set up WhatsApp on a new phone, you can add an extra layer of security to your account by enabling two-step verification. This is on top of biometrics. Go to Settings > Account > Two-Step Verification and tap Turn On. You can do this on both Android and iPhone. Then you'll need to enter a password and an email address (this step is optional).