With the idea of keeping gossipers away from your private conversations on WhatsApp encryption, you now have a new function to hide them under a secret code.
WhatsApp adds and continues to add new functions to the application. On this occasion, it is a tool that was born with the idea of protecting user privacy to the maximum: secret codes to hide chats.
Simply put, it allows anyone to hide specific chats within the app. In this way, you can prevent gossip stars who like to mess with your cell phone from getting into conversation that you don’t want to be seen, for whatever reason. How do I do it? Very easy.
WhatsApp encryption activating the Secret Code
- Go to WhatsApp and click on the chat you want to keep hidden. Hold it down.
- Select the three dots located in the top-right corner.
- Select the block chat option.
- In the window that appears, click Continue and confirm your identity using the blocking method you have on WhatsApp—fingerprint, facial recognition, or pattern.
- Once done, the chat will no longer appear in your list and will be hidden in a folder called Blocked Chats, which you will see above.
- To access this folder, you will have to use your WhatsApp blocking method again.
- If you want to unlock it, it is as simple as accessing it. Once inside, you hold down the chat, and in the three option points, click on Unlock Chat.
How to set a secret code for your blocked chats on WhatsApp
Unlocking and re-hiding chats
Okay, now you’re probably wondering how you could set a secret code for those chats that you have well-protected. For it:
- Go to the Blocked Chats folder and click on the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Select chat blocking settings.
- Choose the Secret Code option.
- Enter the password you want to use to unlock hidden chats (it can be a word or an emoji).
- Confirm the password twice and activate the Hide blocked chats option.
Forgot your code? No Worries!
What happens if you forget the secret code? Don’t worry, because you can follow these steps to regain access to your hidden chats:
- Open WhatsApp, go to Settings, and access Privacy.
- In the Lock Chats section, click Unlock to clear locked chats.
- Enter your WhatsApp blocking method to confirm.
- Doing so will unblock locked chats and return them to the main chat list.
Taking into account the ease of use of these chats, I clarify that if someone wants to gossip about you, at least you will give them clues that you are hiding something. Since it is seen that there are blocked chats, at least you prevent yourself from having access, almost “like Pedro around your house,” to your WhatsApp encryption.
A Word of WhatsApp encryption
While the secret code offers an extra layer of privacy, it’s important to remember that someone particularly determined might still suspect hidden conversations exist. After all, the presence of a “Blocked Chats” folder can be a giveaway.
