Control your privacy: Use 'Secret Codes' to make your conversations more private on WhatsApp

Did you know that WhatsApp has a feature that allows you to hide conversations that you wish to keep private? This feature comes in handy when someone else opens your WhatsApp account and you have chats you'd rather keep away from prying eyes.

Whether it's for flirting with a secret crush or planning a surprise party, the "secret code" feature enables you to keep your locked chats secure and confidential.

What it is and how it works

WhatsApp offers a Chat Lock feature that allows you to protect your sensitive conversations with your phone's passcode, facial recognition, or fingerprint. Notification previews for locked chats do not reveal the sender or message content, and any media shared in these chats will not be automatically saved to the phone's photo library, which helps to keep the conversations more private.

However, WhatsApp places Locked Chats in a folder on your main screen, which can be easily noticed by others. Here is where the "Secret Code" enters the scene. When you designate a secret code to your Locked Chats folder, Locked Chats disappears from your main screen, and the only way to find these conversations is to use your secret code.

Here's how to try it yourself

1. Open the WhatsApp app
2. Select and long-press the chat you'd like to secure with a secret code
3. Tap 'Lock Chat' and then 'Continue'
4. Open the Chat Lock Settings
5. Set up your Secret Code - it can be whatever you want, emoji included.
6. When you want to find your chat, search your Secret Code in the search bar

Once set up, Locked Chats will disappear from the main screen. You'll be able to find the folder and all your private communications by searching for your secret code from the Chats search bar.

WhatsApp doens't say what happens if your forget your secret code, although it suggests it should be memorable.

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