WhatsApp might soon get fingerprint authentication for Android

Making sure that our chats remain completely private and cannot be seen by others, WhatsApp is reportedly introducing a new fingerprint authentication feature where the app can only be accessible by the user himself.

According to reports, the Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is working on a new feature for Android where it will protect users’ chats from being accessible by other through fingerprint authentication.

The popular WhatsApp tipster WABetaInfo reported the news saying that the feature is currently under development and is disabled by default in the Android 2.19.3 beta version. The feature will be available within the app under ‘Settings’, then further tapping to ‘Accounts’, and then ‘Privacy’.

Once enabled, the fingerprint authentication will protect WhatsApp from others to be seen. “The user will need to authenticate his identity in order to open WhatsApp (from the app icon, from the notification or from external pickers). It will protect the entire app, so it’s not used to lock specific conversations,” the report stated.

The report also added that the feature, if launched, will be available to all fingerprint-toting Android devices running on Android Marshmallow or later, as per Android Authority. Also, if a user is unable to open their WhatsApp with fingerprint, there will also be an option available where users will be directed to open the app using the phone’s credentials.

Moreover, WhatsApp was also rumored to bring a similar feature to iPhone, supporting two biometric authentication methods – Face ID and Touch ID, however the iOS feature isn’t available yet for ‘development reasons’, as per the report.