When someone messages a user and they have that chat locked, the sender’s name and the content of the message will remain hidden. WhatsApp’s new ‘Chat Lock’ option enables users to move private chats out of their main inbox to their own password-protected folder in the app.  

Over the next few months, WhatsApp has plans to add more options for Chat Lock, including locks for companion devices and creating a custom password for chats so that users can use a unique password different from the one they use for their phone.