Popular messaging app WhatsApp keeps on getting new features every now and then that makes it more user-friendly. This time the instant messaging app has rolled out a new feature where the user will be able to unlock WhatsApp using the smartphone’s fingerprint sensor. The company first brought this feature to the iOS devices now the fingerprint feature has arrived to Android beta users.
The new update bears Android beta version 2.19.221 that comes disabled by default. To enable it the users can head to setting option available with the app where they can add a layer of protection to their app chats making it more secure and private. This can be done by going to WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Fingerprint lock. The new feature is made available for the device that runs on Android Marshmallow or higher and also comes with a fingerprint scanner.
After enabling the Fingerprint lock the user further needs to bring into play fingerprint authentication to unlock WhatsApp. The user can choose from an automatic lock option as per their requirement. When the user selects this option he/ she will be asked to confirm their identity by using the fingerprint authentication in order to open or close the app.
In the Android version the user can choose from ‘automatically lock’ options- immediately, after 1 minute, and after 30 minutes. On the other hand, the iOS app comes with an extra option of 15 minutes that the Android version does not include.
In addition to this, the instant messaging platforms also come with a fresh option of ‘show content in notifications’. This feature will let the user make their mind up if they would like to see or hide messages as well as sender preview while the fingerprint lock is enabled. If the user does not enable the said feature they would be able to respond to the messages from the notification itself as well as come back with the WhatsApp calls. This is possible because the Fingerprint feature is enabled when the users want to lock or unlock the app.
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