A little-known WhatsApp feature has been branded ‘dangerous’ after going viral on social media – but the Facebook-owned messaging app has a very different take on it
WhatsApp is the go-to app for countless people because of its swift and free messaging service, not to mention the ways you can personalise your profile picture and the wallpaper.
However, it seems that concern is brewing over a “dangerous” new feature, following the women from the Sisters In The City podcast revealing it on the @clipsnbinge TikTok account.
They shed light on a “secret” messaging method named “locked chats”, which some men had supposedly kept under wraps from women so they can use WhatsApp on the sly.
“There’s this whole feature on WhatsApp yeah that you can lock a chat and you’ll never find it unless you put a code into your WhatsApp,” explained one of the podcasters. According to her, it’s completely “hidden”, not even popping up if you search above the archive section.
“Your code can be for example three hearts,” she detailed. “And unless you put three hearts into like you know when you’re searching for previous chats […] that’s the only time the hidden chats come up.”
The real kicker, she revealed, is that “someone could cheat on you and you could absolutely never know”. This scoop could very well have us eyeing our significant others’ phones with suspicion – but alas, there’s “no way of knowing if they have locked chats”.
WhatsApp’s help centre outlines: “Any chats you have locked will be kept separate from your other chats in a Locked Chats folder. In order to read or send messages, you’ll need to unlock your chats using device authentication, such as your phone passcode, Face ID, fingerprint, or with a secret code that you can set up.”
However, if you forget the code, there is an option to “clear everything” – but those snooping on their partners phone could remain in the dark as they wouldn’t be able to see any locked chats, ensuring the privacy of the phones owner is maintained.
The woman in the video expressed her relief at being single, admitting the knowledge about locked chats might have driven her “insane”. She confessed shed feel compelled to challenge a partner on whether he was messaging other women secretly.
“There’s just no way of knowing,” she said, taken aback at such a feature designed to “harbour this unfaithfulness”. Angered, she questioned: “What other reason is there to have locked chats?”
Reflecting on infidelity, one woman commented: “That’s how common cheating has become,” while another proposed that anyone suspicious of their partner cheating should “check their recent emojis” for clues.
Another user wrote: “A way to find out if they have a locked hidden chats… put a random chat of theirs into locked chat. If the locked chat option appears above archived then they don’t, if it doesn’t then they have it. Only downside, unless they put the code in, you won’t know what’s in there but if they have it that’s all you need to know.”
One person suggested it could be a useful feature, commenting: “Or it’s a good feature for victims in abusive relationships to keep contact with people away from abusive partner finding out.”
A WhatsApp spokesperson said the company is continually “trying to find new ways to help keep your messages private and secure”. They provide more context to the feature here.
