All WhatsApp users urged to change setting TODAY to lock down your texts – don’t leave them exposed
IF YOU'RE worried about people snooping on your WhatsApp chats, there's an easy way to shield them from prying eyes.
By dipping into the app's settings, you can lock your messages behind a facial recognition or fingerprint scan on iPhone.
It means your chats are protected from prying eyes even when your iPhone is unlocked.
To set this up you need to head to your WhatsApp settings by hitting the cog icon at the bottom 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.
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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.
WhatsApp has made a string of changes in recent months designed to bolster users' privacy.
The US chat app recently rolled out an update that blocks people who aren't in your contacts from seeing your "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, but until now it was visible to everyone by default.
Following the update, only contacts and those you’ve chatted with will see your status, keeping when you last used the app a secret from all but your contacts.
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And last year, WhatsApp announced that it was expanding its disappearing messages feature that ensures they vanish after a set period.
Users can now set texts to self-destruct after 24 hours, seven days or 90 days. You can also now set all of your messages to disappear by default.
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