WhatsApp just brought some major updates in the past week with some new features in its Communities feature. They have also added a few features to be tested for beta users last week. One of them is a creative text editing tool that allows users to change the text’s alignment and fonts. Testers also get to work with disappearing messages anywhere from 24 hours, 7 days, and 90 days. There could also be a new ‘audio chat’ function which seems to be a sort of group chat via WhatsApp where included or invited members can go in and out of the chat at any time they want. Now, they are adding more security feature that might actually be a lot of use.

The latest WhatsApp Beta version 2.23.8.2 for Android allows you to lock selected chats. That applies to both one-on-one chats and group chats. You can either use your fingerprint as a key or just a regular PIN code. The locked chats even have a separate tab for it so that you can easily set it out from other chats. Your locked chats will not be able to be seen from the main chat screen though, so you might want to remember whose chat you have locked. If you failed to enter the right credentials to open the chat, the app will prompt you to clear the chat before you open in the next time. It is not only chats that gets locked too, the media files shared on these private chats will not get saved into your smartphone’s gallery.

WhatsApp, at least in Malaysia, is the most popular alternative messenger app. With the latest community update, WhatsApp has become one of the most powerful community management tool to have for community managers and admins. While they have been also updating the app with more security patches than before to make the app one of the most secure in the world, they have not given much in terms of control over privacy and security of a user. With the new beta update, it seems like WhatsApp is putting more control into the users’ hands. We are sure to be locking some our private chats aside to keep prying eyes from it.