WhatsApp rolls out new feature allowing users to hide and lock conversations

WhatsApp has begun rolling out a new feature that will allow users to lock and hide conversations, according to a recent press release by Meta on Monday. 

The new feature called "Chat Lock" will allow users to remove a chat thread from their app's regular onscreen inbox and place it into a secret folder that can only be accessed with a password or some form of biometric recognition. 

Meta calls the feature "one more layer of security," adding that users will now beable to protect their "most intimate conversations," and hide notifications. 

"New locked chats in WhatsApp make your conversations more private. They're hidden in a password protected folder and notifications won't show sender or message content," wrote Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a post on Facebook. 

Users will be able to lock a specific chat by tapping the name of a one-to-one or group and selecting the lock option. To reveal these chats, slowly pull down on your inbox and enter your password or biometric, Meta says. 

The new feature has already begun rolling out to users globally today.