Noted multi-media messaging platform WhatsApp seems to be rolling out a new feature for its Android Beta users. According to a new report, WhatsApp developers have finally rolled out the fingerprint lock feature in the latest Beta version of the app. This feature reaches the beta testing version about eight months after it was initially spotted as a hidden feature. This is one of the many features that developers are working on behind the scenes. It is worth noting that the company already rolled out the feature for iOS beta users of WhatsApp more than three months back.
WhatsApp fingerprint lock feature details
During the course of development, the “Fingerprint Lock” feature has undergone a number of name revisions. As previously reported, the feature was initially known as Authentication and later renamed to Screen Lock. WhatsApp wants to ensure that the name of the feature best reflects what it does while not creating any confusion. According to a report by WABetaInfo, this feature is now available Android beta users running the app version 2.19.221. If you are WhatsApp beta user then you can double-check the version by going to “App info” under the “Help” menu in the “Settings” section.
If your WhatsApp is not on version 2.19.221 then you need to check for updates on Play Store. After ensuring that you are running the required version, if you still can’t access then feature then you should reinstall the app. Make sure that you take a backup of your chat history before uninstalling the app. Now that you have the required version, the feature is in the “Privacy” section under “Account” option in WhatsApp “Settings”.
If you enable the “Fingerprint Lock” feature then it will ask you to authenticate your fingerprint stored in the OS. The report confirmed that users can still reply to messages from notifications or receive calls after the lock. This is because the feature only works to lock the main app. The feature comes with three options to “Automatically lock” the app. The first is “immediately”, the second is “After 1 minute”, and the third is “After 30 minutes”. The feature also allows users to enable or disable message context preview in the “New Message” notifications. WhatsApp widget also hides its content when users enable this feature. The report also confirmed that WhatsApp does not have access to your fingerprint data for authentication.