We have all had that mini-heart attack.
You hand your phone to a friend (or your parents) to show them one photo. While they are holding it, a notification pops up from that person. Even if the message is innocent, it looks suspicious.
For years, we used the “Archive” button to hide chats, but that had a huge flaw: if that person messaged you again, the chat would pop right back out into the open.
WhatsApp finally fixed this. You can now fully Lock specific chats behind your fingerprint, and even Hide the Locked Folder entirely so nobody even knows it exists.
Here is how to set up the ultimate privacy shield.
Level 1: The “Chat Lock” (Good for Daily Use)
This is the new standard features. It takes a chat out of your main list and puts it in a secure vault that only your FaceID or Fingerprint can open.
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Open WhatsApp and tap on the chat you want to hide.
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Tap the Contact Name at the top.
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Scroll down and look for Chat Lock.
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Turn on “Lock this chat with fingerprint/FaceID”.
What happens now?
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The chat vanishes from your main list.
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To find it, you have to pull down slowly on your inbox. A “Locked Chats” folder will appear at the top.
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Notifications from this person will now say “1 new message” instead of showing the name or text. Safe!
Level 2: The “Secret Code” (For Maximum Privacy)
This is the feature most people don’t know about yet.
The problem with Level 1 is that if someone grabs your phone and pulls down on the inbox, they can see the “Locked Chats” folder. They can’t open it, but they know you are hiding something.
We want to make that folder invisible too.
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Go into your Locked Chats folder.
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Tap the Three Dots (Settings) at the top.
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Tap Secret Code.
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Create a code (It can be a word like “Pizza” or even an emoji ).
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Turn on “Hide Locked Chats”.
Now the magic happens: The “Locked Chats” folder disappears completely. Even if you pull down on the inbox, nothing shows up.
How do you access it? You have to go to the Search Bar in WhatsApp and type your secret code (“Pizza”). Only then will the hidden folder appear.
Level 3: The “Archive” Trap (Avoid This)
Many people still just “Archive” chats thinking they are hidden. Don’t do this.
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Archived chats are not locked. Anyone can open the “Archived” folder.
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Unless you change a specific setting, an Archived chat will jump back out into your main feed the moment a new message arrives. It is not a security feature; it is an organization feature.
Summary: Which should you use?
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Casual Privacy: Use Chat Lock. It stops people from reading over your shoulder.
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Total Secrecy: Use Secret Code. It makes the chat technically invisible.
