A TIKTOK tech guru is urging WhatsApp users to shield their messages from snoopers.
In a recent video, user @letsdodiz showed how to lock conversations on the app behind a facial recognition or fingerprint scan on iPhone.
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It means your chats are protected from prying eyes even when your iPhone is unlocked.
To set this up, head to your WhatsApp settings by opening the app and hitting the cog icon in the bottom right corner of your display.
Tap Account > Privacy > Screen Lock. From here, you can switch on either Touch ID or Face ID.
You’ll also be able to pick the minimum amount of time you’d like to pass before your biometric ID is required again.
Now, whenever you go to open WhatsApp, you’ll be asked for your prints or a scan of your face in order to access your chats.
It means if you hand your phone to someone you can be sure they won’t be spying on your chats on the sly.
However, it’s still possible to read and quick reply to messages in your device’s notification window, so the tool isn’t foolproof.
To truly lock your iPhone down, you can always disable all message previews in your device settings.
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Whether you’re given the option to lock your chats behind Face ID or Touch ID will depend on the model of iPhone you’re using.
Face ID is available on every model after 2017’s iPhone X, while those that came before it use Touch ID.
Letsdodiz also showed his 2million TikTok followers how to hide their WhatsApp “last seen” status.
“Last seen” is the timestamp that appears on your WhatsApp profile and chats to show when you most recently opened the app.
It’s possible to hide it in your WhatsApp settings so no one is able to see when you’re texting.
Users are able to choose whether last seen was visible to Everyone, My Contacts or Nobody.
Selecting Nobody means that, while your last seen is hidden from everyone, you are unable to see anyone else’s timestamp.
WhatsApp previously had the default option set to Everyone. It is now set to My Contacts as standard.
To change it, open to WhatsApp app and go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
