WhatsApp has been testing and introducing new features recently like Status Ads, ability to use the same account on multiple devices and more. Today, WhatsApp has started rolling out the much-awaited fingerprint lock feature to beta users on Android, after introducing it for iOS beta users earlier this year. This feature was rumored few months back.

The new fingerprint lock feature will be available to users who are on WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.19.221, so you should install beta version if you haven’t. It is supported on smartphones running on Android Marshmallow or newer and having a fingerprint sensor.

How to enable fingerprint lock on WhatsApp for Android?

Open WhatsApp Settings(can be accessed by clicking the three dots present on top right corner) > Account > Privacy.

You will find a new option called ‘Fingerprint lock’ under ‘Privacy’.

under ‘Privacy’. Turn on ‘Unlock with fingerprint’ option to enable the feature.

Confirm the selection by touching the fingerprint sensor.

WhatsApp is providing three options to users on when they can authenticate their identity to open and access the app. The options are visible under ‘Automatically lock’ and includes options like ‘Immediately’, ‘After 1 minute’ and ‘After 30 minutes’.

With the fingerprint lock turned on, the widget content is hidden by default. But users can still answer WhatsApp calls and reply to messages from notifications since the authentication of the fingerprint is only required when the user wants to open the app and access it. Users also get the ability to display content in notifications or turn it off when the fingerprint lock is enabled and this can be accessed under ‘Show content in notifications’.

The feature is gradually rolling to Android beta users and not all users on beta are getting the feature yet. It is expected to be rolled out to all users soon.

Via