We’ve known for a while now that WhatsApp was working on some biometric integration and the feature has finally made its debut on the iPhone. iOS users will now be able to lock their WhatsApp chats and use their fingerprint or facial recognition to open the application.
This is according to the WhatsApp update notes on the iOS store:
![](https://t3n9sm.c2.acecdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/whatsapptouchID.jpg)
If the Apple Store works like the Play Store then this means this update is now available to anyone and everyone who updates their app, and not for beta users only. Hopefully, the feature will be available to Android users soon enough.
Oh and this update is great for WhatsApp in the WhatsApp vs Telegram sweepstakes.
[Update]: Users will still be able to pick up WhatsApp calls without unlocking the phone and also reply chats from the notifications screen like they’ve been able to all along.
Users will be able to set a time limit of how soon WhatsApp chats are locked; immediately, one minute after,15 minutes or an hour.
One response
It might be a good time to leave WhatsApp and move on to a secure messaging service (e.g., Signal or Threema) because Facebook will soon merge its Messenger with Instagram and WA to finally know almost everything about your social interactions online.