WhatsApp has pushed-out an important new update to its Android users, which adds the ability to secure the chat app with a fingerprint. Provided that your smartphone has a biometric sensor, you’ll be able to keep your conversations away from prying eyes even if your handset is unlocked.
When enabled, this useful new security feature will prompt WhatsApp users to place their fingerprint on the scanner when the app is loaded-up to prove it’s really them – despite the smartphone itself already being unlocked.
It’s a useful way to stop anyone who is handling your smartphone – maybe being the designated navigator in the passenger seat of the car, or looking through your latest holiday snaps – from getting unfettered to your WhatsApp conversations.
Unfortunately, the Android app doesn’t support facial unlock just yet… unlike the iOS version of the app which supports Apple’s Face ID technology on all of the supported handsets, including the iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, and iPhone 11 Pro.
That’s a bit of a kick in the teeth for those who have coughed-up for the Pixel 4 or Pixel 4 XL, the latest Google-designed flagship handsets and the first Android-powered smartphones that purportedly boast the same level of security from facial unlock as Face ID.
Still, the vast majority of Android manufacturers are still using fingerprint sensors to add extra security to their devices. And owners of Huawei, OnePlus, Samsung, LG and other smartphone brands will be chuffed with the new feature.
To enable it, tap Settings > Account > Privacy > Fingerprint Lock. Turn on Unlock with fingerprint, and confirm your fingerprint.
In a blog post announcing the new update, WhatsApp states: “Earlier this year, we rolled out Touch ID and Face ID for iPhone to provide an extra layer of security for WhatsApp users. Today we’re introducing similar authentication, allowing you to unlock the app with your fingerprint, on supported Android phones.”
Interestingly, this new addition wasn’t even rumoured ahead of its launch. Instead, most of the focus around WhatsApp has been around it feverishly-anticipated dark mode.
While other Facebook-owned properties, like Instagram, have now updated to support the gloomy system-wide appearance on Android 10 and iOS 13, WhatsApp is suspicious in its absence – especially since evidence unearthed in beta versions of the app suggest it has been quietly working on the feature behind-the-scenes for over a year.
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