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WhatsApp adds fingerprint lock for Android to stop friends sneaking a look at your private messages


WhatsApp adds fingerprint lock for Android users to stop friends and family sneaking a look at your private messages when you leave your phone unattended

  • Users will be required to scan their fingerprint before they can read messages 
  • A similar feature was introduced on WhatsApp for iOS earlier this year
  •  This is the first time the feature will be available on Android devices

WhatsApp is introducing a new feature for Android users – a fingerprint lock that will prevent your friends and family from sneaking a look at your private messages when you leave the room.  

If Android users choose to enable the new feature on their phone, then anyone attempting to open WhatsApp will be required to scan their fingerprint before they can read the messages stored in the app. 

A similar feature was introduced on WhatsApp for iOS earlier this year, giving iPhone users the ability to protect their messages using either the phone’s fingerprint reader (Touch ID) or Apple’s facial recognition system (Face ID).

However, this is the first time the feature will be available on Android devices, providing an ‘extra layer of security’ for WhatsApp users who own devices running Google‘s software. 

WhatsApp users who enable the feature will have to authenticate their identity using the fingerprint reader on their Android smartphone

WhatsApp users who enable the feature will have to authenticate their identity using the fingerprint reader on their Android smartphone

WhatsApp did not mention a facial recognition unlock for Android in its announcement, meaning owners of devices such as Google’s Pixel 4 – which uses facial recognition rather than a fingerprint scanner as its biometric security – will not be able to use the feature.

The feature is being rolled out to WhatsApp users worldwide who have a fingerprint-scanning capable Android smartphone, the company confirmed.

Users of WhatsApp for Android can enable the new feature by opening the WhatApp app and going to Settings > Account > Privacy > Fingerprint lock. 

Here they can turn on the ‘Unlock with fingerprint’ feature, and choose whether the lock activates immediately, after one minute, or after 30 minutes.

As well as preventing nosy friends from reading your private messages, the new feature could potentially make it harder for police, intelligence and other law enforcement agencies to read messages sent by criminals and terrorists.

The app has already been criticised in the past for its ‘unbreakable’ end-to-end encryption system, meaning only people in conversations can see their contents.

The app has already been criticised for its unbreakable end-to-end encryption system, meaning only the user can see the content (file photo)

 The app has already been criticised for its unbreakable end-to-end encryption system, meaning only the user can see the content (file photo)

The security system blocks governments and law enforcement from intercepting messages from people who might be using the platform for illegal activities.

Last year, WhatsApp admitted that its encryption software could be abused by criminals and terrorists.  

This followed revelations that security services were powerless to access Westminster attacker Khalid Masood’s messages after his death in 2017.

The then-Home secretary Amber Rudd vowed to ‘call time’ on internet firms who give terrorists ‘a place to hide’.

‘We need to make sure that organisations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don’t provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other,’ Ms Rudd told BBC’s Andrew Marr shortly after the attack, in which five people were killed.

The new print authentication could now make it even harder for security services to access encrypted communications from possible criminals.

WhatsApp has more than one billion monthly active users worldwide.

HOW CAN USERS DOWNLOAD THEIR WHATSAPP REPORT?

After updating its privacy settings in line with GDPR, WhatsApp is added a feature to increase transparency for its users.

Called ‘Request Account Info’, this feature enables WhatsApp users to download their account information.

It allows people to access all the data that WhatsApp has on them.

This information is stored on WhatsApp’s servers and includes information such as profile photos and even names of group chats.

Other information includes the make and model of the device they used, their contacts and any blocked numbers.

It is important to note that the report will not contain any messages, although that option is also available through a separate feature.    

How to request a report

  1. Go to WhatsApp Settings
  2. Select the Account option 
  3. Press the new option that says ‘request account info’
  4. Tap Request report
  5. The screen will update to Request sent

WhatsApp claims the report will be available approximately 3 days after the date requested.

Once the report has been created and is ready, users will be able to download it.

How to download the report

  1. Go to WhatsApp Settings 
  2. Click on Account 
  3. Select the ‘request account info’ button 
  4. Download report. 

A ZIP file will then be downloaded to the device and will include an HTML file.

Once successfully downloaded, WhatsApp users will be able to export their report.



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