WhatsApp for Android is constantly working on new features in its labs, with the app's beta versions giving testers an early glimpse of under-development features. Earlier this month, the Meta-owned platform was revealed to be working on adding a fingerprint-based lock to chats, a much-requested privacy feature on one of the top encrypted messaging apps out there. A new leak now offers additional context on this upcoming addition, which complements the existing ability to require biometric authentication upon app start.

The ability to lock individual or group chats with a fingerprint, a.k.a. Chat lock, was spotted on WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.23.9.14 and first reported by the ever-reliable WABetaInfo. Screenshots posted by the publication reveal the new Chat Lock option residing within the chat details screen. Meanwhile, all the locked chats are grouped together on the app's home screen for instant access, while WABetaInfo notes that locked chats will also have media auto downloads disabled by default for extra security.

WABetaAndroid-Chat Lock
Source: WABetaInfo

More importantly, if someone repeatedly attempts to break into the locked chat, WhatsApp will ask them to clear the entire chat to open it, thus making the contents of the chat virtually inaccessible to anybody apart from the user. Similar to the app lock option, we suspect users will be able to set the interval for when the authentication is required, for instance, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and so on.

There's no word on when the feature will make its way to the stable channel. WABetaInfo stresses that only a limited few beta testers are seeing the feature right now. However, it should become more widely available to the rest of the beta testers over the next few weeks, followed by a release on the stable channel not too long from now.