SAN FRANCISCO: WhatsApp has formally introduced a new security feature called “Restricted Chats” to give users more privacy for their personal conversations.
The feature is available in the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android and allows users to protect selected chats from being accessed on linked devices. Once a chat is restricted, it cannot be opened on a linked laptop, tablet or other device and can only be accessed on the user’s main smartphone.
The feature is optional and must be turned on manually for individual chats. Restricted Chats also stops photos and videos from the conversation from being automatically saved to the phone’s gallery. It also prevents both people in the chat from exporting the conversation, while Meta AI features will not be available in restricted chats.
To use the feature, users need to open an individual chat, tap the person’s name to open Chat Info, scroll down and select “Restricted Chat.” The feature currently works only for one-to-one chats and is not available for group conversations. As the feature is still being tested, it is not yet available to all WhatsApp users. The company has not announced when it will be released for everyone.
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