The popular online messaging app, WhatsApp now offers biometric authentication for Android users. The app can now be locked down and only the owner can access his/her personal messages without the fear of someone else reading them.
Now, we’ve seen WhatsApp do this earlier this year on its iOS app, which could be unlocked via FaceID or TouchID. As expected, Android users had to wait over half a year before they got the same feature. Regardless, they have it now and if you’re one of them, you can use this feature by following these simple steps:
Procedure:
1. Update WhatsApp. Open the Play Store app from your phone and make sure the WhatsApp Messenger app is updated. This feature won’t work if your app isn’t updated to the latest version. The current version where this works is 2.19.308.
2. Open WhatsApp and go to Settings. From there, click on Account.
3. Once you’re on the Account page, click on Privacy.
4. You’ll now be redirected to a page where, at the bottom, you’ll see Fingerprint Lock written. Click on that to proceed.
5. From here, you can toggle the Fingerprint Lock on and off. Once turned on, it gives you choices of time intervals in which the app will lock after being closed. Choose the one which suits you the most. I’d recommend selecting Immediately but that can become annoying if you multitask a lot while texting. It also gives you the option to view messages from the notification. Again, choose whatever suits your privacy needs best. You’re now good to go!
