WhatsApp doesn't have password protection, but the service lets you secure your messages with biometric authentication instead. If you enable this feature, you'll have to unlock the app with your fingerprint to view your chats. Here's how to get started with fingerprint lock on WhatsApp for Android.
You will still be able to take audio and video calls even when WhatsApp is locked, as the feature is primarily aimed at securing your messages. Fingerprint lock brings much-needed privacy controls to your WhatsApp account, and if you're worried about someone else reading your messages, you now know how to set it up and use.
WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature where you'll need to use biometric authorization before you can link a device to WhatsApp Web. You don't need to set anything up; the feature is already live on WhatsApp, and if you want to link a new device to use WhatsApp Web, you will need biometric authentication.
Once you authorize a device, WhatsApp Web will be accessible without a password or PIN as long as that device is linked to your account. There's no way to secure your chats on the web client, but for what it's worth this is a positive move. With well over a billion users, WhatsApp is one of the largest messaging platforms available, and it runs just as well on cheap Android phones as it does on flagships.
Harish Jonnalagadda is a Senior Editor overseeing Asia at Android Central. He leads the site's coverage of Chinese phone brands, contributing to reviews, features, and buying guides. He also writes about storage servers, audio products, and the semiconductor industry. Contact him on Twitter at @chunkynerd.
In general, WhatsApp Account of most people is flooded with private conversations and pictures that are better off not being seen by others.
In this article, we will be showing you the steps to Password Protect WhatsApp on your Android Phone or Tablet.
Protecting WhatsApp Account with a Password is a good option, in case you do not like using a Lock Screen Password on your Android Phone.
Even if you have a Lock Screen Password on your Android phone, your WhatsApp conversations, Photos and Videos can get exposed in case any of your friends or family members need to borrow your Android Phone and you hand your phone to them.
Even if someone borrows your Android Phone for only a few minutes and the person is sitting right in front of you, it will still make you feel edgy while your Android Phone is in the hands of someone else.
Luckily there are many Apps available on Google Play Store which allow you to Password Protect WhatsApp on your Android phone or Tablet.
Follow the steps below to password protect WhatsApp on your Android Phone using an app called AppLock by DoMobile.
1. Open Google Play Store on your Android Phone or Tablet and search for AppLock
2. From the search results, tap on AppLock by DoMobile, which should be located at the very top of the search results (See image below)
3. On the next screen, tap on the Install button and then tap on Accept to install the App on your Android Phone.
4. Open the AppLock App on your Android Phone.
5. Next, you will be prompted to draw an Unlock Pattern.
6. On the next screen draw the same Unlock Pattern once again to confirm.
Note: The unlock pattern you are drawing will be used to Password Protect WhatsApp on your Android Phone.
7. Next, you will be prompted to enter a Security Email. Enter in a Security Email and tap on the Save button
8. Next, you will be taken to the App’s home screen, on this screen scroll down and tap on WhatsApp from the list of apps that you want to protect on your Android Phone (See image below).
9. You will see a pop-up asking you to grant Usage Access to AppLock. Tap on Permit to move to the next screen (See image below)
10. On the next screen, provide Usage Access to AppLock by moving the toggle next to AppLock to On position.
From now on, anyone trying to access WhatsApp on your Android Phone will be required to enter the Unlock Pattern that you had setup in above steps.
Even though you have protected WhatsApp on your Android Phone by using AppLock, anyone would still be able to access WhatsApp on your phone by simply uninstalling the AppLock App.
In order to prevent this possibility, you can either hide AppLock from the home screen of your Android Phone or prevent uninstallation of Apps on your Android Phone by following the steps below.
1. Open AppLock app on your Android phone or Tablet.
2. Next, tap on the Privacy tab and then tap on Settings, Google Play Store and Install/Uninstall options on the Privacy screen (See image above)
Once you enable AppLock for Settings, Play Store and Install/Uninstall option on the Privacy screen, no one will be able to Install or Uninstall Apps on your Android Phone or change the Settings on your Android Phone, without entering the Password for AppLock.
Another option is to hide AppLock from your home screen. While this does not prevent users from going into Settings and uninstalling the App, it prevents people from opening the app on your Android Phone.
1. Open AppLock App on your Android phone or tablet.
2. Next, tap on the Protect tab from the top of your screen and then tap on Magic. (See image below)
3. Tapping on Magic opens a drop-down menu, tap on Hide AppLock option in the drop-down menu (See image above)
4. On the Hide AppLock screen, turn On the Hide AppLock option (See image below)
Note: If you hide AppLock from your home screen, the only way to open the app is by visiting domobile.com/applock/
In case you are not a fan of Pattern Lock Passwords, you can setup a Numerical Password for AppLock on your Android Phone by following the steps below.
1. Open AppLock on your Android Phone or Tablet.
2. Next, tap on the Protect tab and then tap on Security (See image below)
3. Tapping on Security will open a drop-down menu, tap on Unlock Settings option in the drop-down menu (See image above)
4. On the Unlock Settings Screen, tap on Password.
5. After tapping on Password, you will be prompted to enter a Numerical Password. Enter a Password and confirm the password.
From now on, you will be able to use a Numerical Password for AppLock, instead of using a Pattern Lock Password.
While AppLock by DoMobile is a great App, it may not work with some Android phones. In such a case, you can try using AppLock by Fotoable to Password protect WhatsApp on your Android Phone.
1. Open Google Play Store on your Android Phone and search for AppLock.
2. Next, tap on AppLock by Fotoable in the search results that appear on your Android Phone (See image below)
3. On the next screen, tap on the green Install button and follow the instructions to install the app on your device.
4. Once the app has been installed, open the AppLock app on your Android Phone.
5. Next, you will see a list of Apps pre-selected by AppLock app for password protection. To add WhatsApp to this list tap on the + button.
6. On the next screen, tap on WhatsApp and then tap on the Save button from the bottom of your screen (See image below)
7. Next, you will be taken back to the home screen of the app. On the home screen, tap on the Apply now button (See image below).
8. On the next screen, you will be prompted to draw a Lock Pattern and confirm the Lock Pattern
9.
On the next screen, tap on Apps with Usage Access (See image below)
10. On the Usage Access screen, enable Usage Access for AppLock by moving the toggle next to AppLock to ON Position (See image below)
After granting usage access to AppLock you will see that WhatsApp is now protected with a password.
In case required, you can change the AppLock Password at any time by following the steps below.
1. Open AppLock on your Android Phone and tap on the 3-line icon from the top left corner of your screen.
2. From the drop-down menu tap on Settings (See image below)
3. Next tap on Change Passcode option
4. On the next screen, enter in your new password and then enter the password in once again to confirm
Content
Password locking any application is one of the effective ways to increase the level of privacy of the user who trusts the software with their information.
The article will describe the techniques and means of installing protection from the eyes of strangers, applicable to the WhatsApp messenger on an Android device, iPhone and Windows PC.
Approaches to the procedure for setting a lock password for opening different (for Android, iOS and Windows) versions of the messenger application differ significantly, so the owners of the respective devices should refer only to those instructions that are feasible in the software environment they use .
WhatsApp users for Android, when solving the problem of ensuring the protection of the messenger by setting a password to open it, have the opportunity to go one of really many ways. Despite the fact that the client application for this OS does not provide a blocking function, it will not be difficult to install protection on WhatsApp using third-party software. You need to choose a suitable tool from a wide list of available ones, for example, in the Google Play Store.
The most effective of these products, as well as the solution to the issue under consideration with their help, are described in a separate material on our website.
Read more: Adding a password for WhatsApp on Android
Among other things, owners of modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi, Huawei, Honor, Meizu, Asus and others that are running the corresponding Android shells MIUI, EMUI, FlymeOS, ZEN UI, etc. .d. it is recommended to pay attention to the tools of category “Application protection” integrated into the system software of their devices. The use of this tool in the general case is described in the article available at the following link.
More: How to set a password for an Android application using OS
With regard to WhatsApp for iPhone, password protection can be set by activating the lock in "Settings" application, calling one of the iOS functions, as well as using specialized third-party software .
Among the user-configurable WhatsApp settings for iOS, there are two options, by activating which it becomes possible to almost completely eliminate the possibility of unauthorized persons gaining access not only to correspondence in the messenger, but also to an account in the information exchange system.
Let's consider them in order.
Application protection
As a password that opens access to WhatsApp in iOS, the client developers for this environment suggest using "Touch ID" or "Face ID" . Thus, before it becomes possible to set a ban on opening the messenger, you need to configure the iPhone lock as a whole.
Read more: How to set up a passcode and Touch ID on iPhone
Select the value of this parameter by checking the box next to the appropriate item. This completes the installation of protection for the application, press "Back" at the top left of the screen.
Two-step verification
To increase the security level when working in WhatsApp, you can additionally activate the option to request a PIN code each time you confirm the identifier (phone number) that serves as a login in the messenger.
Enter your email address in the appropriate field on the screen - through this box, in case of loss of the PIN code, it will be possible to restore access to the WhatsApp ID. After specifying the e-mail, press "Next" at the top right of the screen, confirm the address by re-entering and then tap "Done" . If for some reason blocking WhatsApp using "Touch ID" or "Face ID" is not suitable, you can restrict access to the messenger using the functionality of the software module "Screen Time" , which first appeared on the iPhone c the release of iOS 12.
Read also: How to update iOS to the latest version
We enter the digital code specified during step No. 3. Now we select the time during which WhatsApp will work without restrictions, that is, to open the application, a secret combination of numbers will not be required.
In addition to the above options, to solve the problem from the title of the article, iOS users can turn to specialized software created by third-party developers. Note that despite the abundance of offers in the Apple App Store, we could not find free and at the same time effective tools with the functionality declared to achieve the desired result.
Next, we will demonstrate how the mediocrely effective and at the same time paid applications with the function of setting a password on WhatsApp work, and as an example, we will use Social Password Lock Manager by developer Khadija Burhanpur .
Download Whatsapp Password Lock Manager for iPhone from Apple App Store
Read also: How to link a payment card to iPhone
Read more: How to hide an app on iPhone
Enter the four-digit pin code twice, which will be required to start the messenger.
Unfortunately, neither the WhatsApp client for PC nor the Windows OS has the ability to protect individual applications from access by strangers by setting a password.
In addition, third-party software ( Exe Password ( Exe Guarder ), Game Protector ), which demonstrates its effectiveness in blocking various software, turns out to be powerless against WhatsApp, or rather, as a result of its work, causes the messenger to crash.
Thus, persons who use WhatsApp from a computer that strangers have access to, can only be recommended to set up an account in Windows and use a password lock, which involves protecting all installed software, including the messenger, from unauthorized access.
Read more:
Set a password for your profile in Windows 7
How to set a password for Windows 8
Set a password for your account in Windows 10
As you can see, in almost any situation, access to the WhatsApp application can be protected with a password, which will be an absolutely not superfluous item in the list of actions that involve ensuring a high level of protection for the confidential data of the messenger user.
Hello everyone! Today in the article we will figure out how to put a password on WhatsApp. We will look at instructions for both phones (Android and iPhone) and for a computer. Most often, this thing is needed so that unauthorized persons cannot enter your messenger and read confidential correspondence. Let me remind you that the function has long been built into new versions for smartphones. 9Ol000
Let's see how you can set a password in WhatsApp on an Android phone. Actually, nothing is difficult, and fortunately, the system has a built-in function. You can also use third-party applications - I will talk about them at the very end of this chapter.
More recently, the developers have finally added a feature that allows you to set the ability to block the messenger. Now you do not need to download any third-party programs or suffer with phone settings, everything is done in the program itself.
The function in different firmware can be located in different places. You can try to find it through the search - at the very top of the "Settings" click on the search bar and enter the name.
This function is available on almost all Android smartphones (ASUS, Huawei, Honor, OnePlus, Xiaomi) and is immediately integrated into the system. In addition to the built-in function, you can also use third-party applications - AppLock, CM Locker, Locker for Whats Chat App. They can be freely downloaded from the Google Play Market. But to be honest, they all work crookedly and with errors. That's why I didn't list them.
In this chapter, we will see how to set a WhatsApp password on iPhone or iPad. The WhatsApp app for Apple products has a built-in feature that allows you to set up Touch or Face ID to unlock the app.
If you are especially worried about your correspondence, you can enable two-step authentication:
There are other third party programs as well, but I don't see the point in using them given that the app has a handy built-in feature.
I want to disappoint you, but putting a password on WhatsApp on a computer with Windows (or any other system) will not work for you, since the developers have not yet added this feature. Perhaps they will add it soon, as they did with the Android version. I can only advise you two options.
First, you can permanently log out of your account and log in again. How to do this is detailed here.
