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The WhatsApp app gains a new feature to bring more protection and improve the privacy of its users.

Through the messaging app, the user can now better protect their conversations by hiding a chat on the app's main screen.

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A folder called “Protected Conversations” is created to store all hidden chats with the new feature.

It is only possible to access such conversations through a password created by the user, or using biometrics, such as fingerprint and facial recognition.

This functionality is still capable of hiding the content of conversations in the cell phone's notifications tab.

How to use the new WhatsApp feature?

The WhatsApp app brought this new feature to help with user privacy, especially if more people can access the cell phone.

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This new feature has already been launched, with the “Protected Conversations” folder, on May 15th.

Below are the steps to use this feature:

  1. Open WhatsApp on your cell phone;
  2. Tap on the name of the contact or a group;
  3. Open lock option;
  4. Now perform conversation protection.

See also, the steps to be able to reveal a chat that is hidden:

  1. Drag the input box down;
  2. Put the password that was created or use biometrics to unlock;
  3. Soon, the chat will be shown.

It was also announced by WhatsApp that, in the coming months, other features should be launched to further improve user security.

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One of those upcoming features is the ability to customize passwords for each conversation.

Account theft app feature

WhatsApp also announced this year that protection changes were added to the application to further improve security.

The measure is aimed at preventing the theft of accounts, thus asking for confirmation from the user on the old cell phone to transfer the account to a new device.

This also alerts the user that someone might be trying to steal their account. If the user does not authorize the transfer, the action is blocked.

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Verification for this account transfer takes place as follows:

  • The WhatsApp application sends a notification on the old cell phone for the user to authorize the migration of the account to a new device;
  • The alert sent has useful information, such as the model of the new cell phone to which the account must be transferred;
  • In this alert, the user is also informed that, when the transfer is completed, the old cell phone will lose the WhatsApp account.

The company created this feature to reduce cases of account theft and related scams, blocking malicious actions more easily.

This feature is very helpful if, by any chance, the user has shared their app verification code with someone else.

What happens if the cell phone is stolen?

If the cell phone is stolen or stolen, the user can request a new one-time password from WhatsApp.

This also applies to situations of cell phone loss, damage to the device and any other situation that prevents the user from using the device.

Thus, when the user uses the one-time password, he will be able to recover the account and transfer it to a new cell phone.