WhatsApp is testing a lock to protect itself

An extreme protection, a padlock, to be used on WhatsApp if you are at risk of cyberattacks or intrusions, with your chat having repeatedly ended up being targeted by spyware like Pegasus and Graphite.

This is the new feature that the platform is apparently testing, according to the specialized site WaBetaInfo, which discovered the function by analyzing beta version 2.25.33.4 of the application on Android.

The “lock” feature combines a number of options to increase security and privacy. These include blocking media files and attachments from unknown senders; disabling link previews; silencing incoming calls for unknown senders; the ability to be added to groups only by your contacts; notifications when your security code changes in an end-to-end encrypted chat; enabling two-step verification; displaying your profile picture, information, status, and last connection date only to contacts; and the ability to hide your IP address in calls by making them pass through WhatsApp servers, ANSA writes.

If implemented, this new option will increase the level of protection against potential threats without having to manually adjust multiple settings. However, there is currently no information on when this new feature will be implemented for all users.