WHATSAPP’S latest feature has been accused of making the popular messaging app a cheater’s paradise.
Users have joked on social media that the app’s brand new Chat Lock feature has ‘upgraded’ infidelity over the ability to keep secret conversations locked behind a password.
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The Chat Lock feature joins WhatsApp’s growing list of privacy features, such as end-to-end encryption (e2ee), encrypted backups, disappearing messages, screenshot blocking, and controls over who can see when you were last online and more.
While it can be used for more innocent purposes such as planning surprises or even sending cheeky messages inside committed relationships, others are very aware of how the feature is likely to be abused.
One user wrote on Twitter: “WhatsApp will now let you lock and hide ‘intimate conversations’, cheaters have a whole new way to cheat.”
“Ok, I reckon those at the top [of WhatsApp] must be perennial cheats or sumin,” added another user.
“Cos I get e2e encryption and disappearing messages but what is THIS for??”
“On behalf of CPA (cheating partners association) we commend the great work you are doing,” a Facebook user commented under the announcement.
WhatsApp users have joked that they can now “cheat in peace” thanks to the feature which was announced yesterday afternoon.
“New locked chats in WhatsApp make your conversations more private,” Mark Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook post yesterday.
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“They’re hidden in a password protected folder and notifications won’t show sender or message content.”
It’s still early days for the feature.
WhatsApp is set to add more options for Chat Lock in the coming months.
This will include locking chats for companion devices – which is best suited for people who jump from one phone to another – and also creating a custom password.
Currently, you can only use your phone’s password to unlock the chats, be that a number code or biometric.
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