WhatsApp Web to get update that means you can enjoy NSFW messages in the office
WhatsApp Web could be getting a major new feature that will change the way you message at work.
WhatsApp seems to get a new feature every few weeks.
We only just got to grips with pinned messages, which just arrived in the latest version of the app and lets you stick messages to the top of groups, and now another new option seems to be coming down the track.
Tech website WABetaInfo constantly monitors beta and testing versions of WhatsApp to get sneak previews of features that might be coming to the full app, and its team just spotted a brand new addition to the web version of WhatsApp - Chat Lock.
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The system already exists in WhatsApp's mobile version, and is designed to let you add certain chats to a locked folder in the app, sealed behind a password or code so that they're not sitting in your list of regular chats.
Now, it looks like the same feature could finally be arriving in WhatsApp Web, although we don't have a firm indication of when it might actually go live.
This could be perfect if you have some private or sensitive chats but use WhatsApp's desktop app or web version at work, or in any place where you don't want prying eyes to see who you're messaging over your shoulder.
Of course, this also means that you could have chats that are NSFW without worrying about them being obvious, too, if you're trying to keep work and play separate.
Based on screenshots that WABetaInfo uncovered, it looks like there will be a new locked chat section in the sidebar of WhatsApp Web that you can select, to make it clear where you can find your locked chats.
We don't even actually know that it'll require a password, technically, although that isn't exactly the wildest of speculation.
Either way, when this feature finally does arrive for WhatsApp's desktop versions, it'll be a relief for anyone with a complicated set of chats to manage, and who doesn't want notifications popping up from certain conversations while they're at work or anywhere else.
On that note, though, it's worth clarifying that these software betas don't come with any promises of guaranteed features - they could be tested and abandoned.
So, it could still be a little while before locked chats come to WhatsApp Web, if they indeed eventually do.