WhatsApp conversations are secured with an end to end encryption and but what if you leave your phone unlocked? Anyone can just snoop in on your private texts and conversations. WhatsApp finally decided to roll out an update and you can secure your conversations with Apple’s Touch ID on iPhone 5s and above or Face ID on iPhone X and above. In this guide, I’ll show you how to enable Touch ID and Face ID on WhatsApp. Let’s begin.
Enable Touch ID and Face ID on WhatsApp
The option to enable Touch ID and Face ID is easy to find in the Privacy Settings for WhatsApp. If you can’t see the option yet, that means you need to update your WhatsApp to version 2.19.20.
First, open the App Store on your iPhone and go to WhatsApp app page. You’ll see the update button, tap to update your WhatsApp to the latest version. WhatsApp updates are rolled out gradually and at the time of writing this article, some users still haven’t received their update yet. The current version is 2.19.20.
   
After updating the app, open WhatsApp on your iPhone and tap the Settings icon on the bottom right. Tap ‘Account’ to open the account settings.
In the Account settings, tap ‘Privacy’ to open up the privacy settings. You would see a list of options and on the bottom, you’ll see ‘Screen Lock‘.
   
Depending on your iPhone model, you’ll see different options, Touch ID works on iPhone 5s and above and Face ID is available for iPhone X, Xs, Xs Max, and XR. You can enable it by sliding the toggle switch.
   
Now, your WhatsApp is secured with Apple’s Touch ID and Face ID. You can set the prompt for authentication as per your convenience. From the list of options, you can select ‘Immediately’ if you don’t want anyone to snoop in on your conversations.
   
To see Touch ID and Face ID in action, simply close WhatsApp and relaunch. WhatsApp should prompt you for Authentication now. In some cases, the Face ID and Passcode on iPhone X series may still require you to give additional permission to WhatsApp which could be done from Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Other Apps.
   
Also Read: WhatsApp v Hike: Which is a better Messenger for you?
Enable Touch ID and Face ID on WhatsApp
This was a quick method to enable Touch ID and Face ID on WhatsApp for your iPhone. This is an excellent feature which most of the apps should implement and I can only hope for a day when Gmail implements it on iPhone and I can secure my emails with Touch ID and Face ID. Tell us which apps would you want to implement this security features in the comments below.
