WhatsApp Chat Lock: How to Lock Private Chats with Fingerprint on Android

Introduction

Sometimes you hand your phone to a friend or a family member to show them a photo, and you do not want them to accidentally open a private conversation. WhatsApp has a built-in feature for exactly this situation: Chat Lock. Once you lock a chat, it moves out of your main chat list and can only be opened with your fingerprint or phone lock. No extra app is needed, and the feature is completely free.

Chat Lock keeps selected chats behind your fingerprint.

What Is WhatsApp Chat Lock?

Chat Lock is a privacy feature inside WhatsApp. When you lock a chat:

• The chat moves into a separate "Locked chats" folder.
• Its messages and the sender's name are hidden from notifications.
• Opening it needs your fingerprint, face unlock, or phone PIN — whichever screen lock you use.
• The chat is not deleted or archived. It works normally once unlocked.

This is useful for personal chats, work conversations, or any chat you simply want to keep private on a shared phone.

How to Lock a Chat on WhatsApp

Follow these steps on your Android phone:

1. Open WhatsApp and open the chat you want to lock.
2. Tap the contact or group name at the top to open the chat info screen.
3. Scroll down and tap "Chat lock".
4. Turn on "Lock this chat with fingerprint" and confirm with your fingerprint.

That is it. The chat will disappear from your main list and move into the Locked chats folder.

 

Only your fingerprint or phone lock can open a locked chat.

Where Do Locked Chats Go?

Locked chats are stored in a folder called "Locked chats" at the top of your chat list. To see it, pull down on the chat list screen. Tap the folder, confirm with your fingerprint, and all your locked chats will appear there.

Locked chats move out of the main list into their own folder.

Four steps to lock any chat.

How to Unlock or Remove Chat Lock

To unlock a chat for reading, just open the Locked chats folder with your fingerprint and read it there. If you want to remove the lock permanently, open the chat, tap the name at the top, tap "Chat lock" again and turn it off. The chat returns to your main list.

3 Things to Remember

• Your phone lock matters: Chat Lock uses your phone's own fingerprint or PIN. If you remove your phone lock, locked chats become unlocked too, so keep a screen lock active.
• Notifications stay private: Locked chats do not show message previews in notifications, which is the whole point — but remember this when you are waiting for an important reply.
• It is not a backup: Locking a chat does not back it up or hide it from WhatsApp backups. It only protects it on this phone.

Related Tip

If you often message many people at once, read our guide on WhatsApp Broadcast lists to send one message to many people without making a group.

Final Words

Chat Lock is one of the simplest privacy tools WhatsApp offers, and it takes less than a minute to set up. If you share your phone with others even sometimes, locking your most private chats is worth doing today.

Have you tried Chat Lock yet, or do you use another way to keep chats private? Tell us in the comments.