WhatsApp is not done with securing your chats yet. According to a new report, the Facebook-owned IM is working on adding another security layer in the shape of passcode protection.
This passcode will reportedly consist of 6 digits, but the news cannot be confirmed due to the nature of the source. Spotted in the app’s text translation program, it seems the more than 1.1 billion people that use WhatsApp will soon be able to protect their messages using a passcode. This has long been possible, but with the help of third party apps. The feature has also been available on the likes of GBWhatsApp and WhatsApp Plus, two great clones of the original app that offer enhanced functionality.
In the strings discovered, phrases such as “Enter the current 6-digit passcode,” “passcodes don’t match” and so on were noticed, prompting suggestions that the app will soon be receiving this ability. There is even room to provide your email address to be used for passcode recovery purposes, which is pretty cool from the developers of the app. One would ask why there is the need for a recovery email when the phone number is already there. Well, there is another interesting string that suggests this recovery email may be optional.
While it seems confirmed that the use of the recovery email may be optional, the WhatsApp team has not hinted on whether the use of the passcode will be optional or not. Nonetheless, this is a welcome addition to the app, which has for so long been open to prying eyes, unless one protects the entire phone with a lock screen passcode.
The new security feature may be followed closely with another much-anticipated feature – WhatsApp video calling. It has been in the rumor mills for almost a year now, but it has yet to materialize. Still, Phone Radar reports that the video calling feature will soon be coming on iOS devices before making the bow on Android devices as well as Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile devices. As for the official release date, there is no confirmation, however, it shouldn’t be long before this happens.
The report further adds that group video calling may take some time before making it to WhatsApp, especially since the same group calling is not yet available via the voice calling feature.