The latest privacy feature for Messenger allows users to add ‘another layer of security’ that will use the device’s privacy settings
Social networking site Facebook on Wednesday announced that users of Messenger app will be able to enable the new ‘App lock’ settings to secure their private chats. The latest privacy feature for Messenger allows users to add ‘another layer of security’ that will use the device’s privacy settings. With App lock, users can lock Messenger and will require an authentication method like Face ID or Touch ID to unlock it.
App Lock lets you add another layer of security to your private messages and helps prevent other people from accessing them, said Jay Sullivan, Director of Product Management, Messenger Privacy and Safety, in a statement.
Sullivan further said that App Lock uses your device’s privacy settings like fingerprint or face authentication to unlock the Messenger app, and your touch or face ID is not transmitted to or stored by Facebook.
Sullivan also informed that the option is currently available for iOS users and an update for Android users is going to roll out in the upcoming months.
However, as of now, the feature is only available on iPhone and iPad. It will come to Android in the next few months. Users can find this feature in the new Privacy settings section, Sullivan said.
The privacy section makes it easy to access settings and features like the audience for your stories, muted stories and blocked people. App Lock and the Privacy section let you tailor your experience and choose settings that work best for you. We’re always working to give you more control over your privacy, so as we introduce more privacy features, you’ll have this centralized place to find them, Sullivan said.
Furthermore, in order to give users more control over who can reach and contact them, Facebook is working on new controls, informed Sullivan. This way the users would be able to decide ‘who can message or call you directly, who goes to your requests folder, and who can’t message or call you at all’. This feature will be similar to the message controls already present on Instagram, where separate sections exist for primary, general, active messages as well as message requests.