There is no shortage of ways that people can access our private messages, whether it's through getting their hands on the devices used or through threat actors hacking through the app. Whatsapp has created a solution for the former with its new lock feature.
To lock a conversation, a user will have to tap twice on a chat and select the lock function, which also works on group chats. This will hide not only the conversation but the sender of it as well as the time stamp of the recent message received, as mentioned by Meta.
Should the phone be held by someone else, the user will not have to worry about the messages popping up from the notifications. It will still show that you have a new message, but it will hide the identity and the content as well.
When someone is snooping through your phone, the locked message folder will not immediately reveal itself. You will have to scroll down in order for it to appear. Only a biometric lock like a fingerprint or a password can unlock the messages.
Meta could add more options for the lock feature in the coming months, as mentioned in Gizmodo, which may include individual passwords for each conversation. For instance, you might add a more complicated password for more "special" chats.
Despite the new feature that could offer extra security for its users, it may not be enough to save the app from exiting the UK altogether, pending its online safety bill's approval which threatens the app's end-to-end encryption protection.
WhatsApp Blocking Access in the UK
As threat actors become more clever with their methods of accessing private information, end-to-end (E2E) encryption in messaging apps has become more important as well. Meta believes that compliance with the Online Safety Bill might get in the way of that.
Since the bill aims to enforce content moderation to protect children from harmful texts and media, the app will be forced to take its E2E encryption in order to monitor the content going through the platform, as mentioned in MacRumors.
It's unlikely that blocking the app in the UK will affect it greatly, especially since only around 2% of its users are from there. If anything, it will be the citizens of the country that will be affected by the change more than the company, should the ban become a reality.
