WhatsApp Rolls Out Restricted Chat Privacy Tool

ISLAMABAD: (News Desk) – WhatsApp has started testing a new privacy feature for selected Android beta users that gives people greater control over sensitive conversations.

The feature, called Restricted Chat, prevents messages from selected conversations from appearing on linked devices, keeping the chat accessible only on the user’s primary smartphone.

The feature was initially known as Advanced Chat Privacy, but Meta renamed it Restricted Chat to distinguish it from end-to-end encryption, which already protects personal WhatsApp conversations by default.

When Restricted Chat is enabled, the selected conversation will no longer be accessible through linked devices such as laptops, tablets or web browsers. Users will only be able to access the chat on their main smartphone.

The feature also introduces additional restrictions on shared media. Photos and videos sent within a restricted conversation will not automatically be saved to the device’s gallery, while chat history cannot be exported.

In addition, Meta AI and other automated integrations will be disabled for conversations protected by Restricted Chat.

WhatsApp is limiting access through linked devices to reduce the possibility of private conversations being accessed through third-party applications, unofficial clients or external artificial intelligence tools that rely on linked-device functionality.

According to the current beta rollout, Restricted Chat is being tested on WhatsApp Android beta version 2.26.39.11 and is available only to a limited number of testers through the Google Play Store.

To use the feature, users can open the WhatsApp conversation they want to protect, tap the contact or group name at the top to access Chat Info, and then enable Restricted Chat.

Once activated, WhatsApp displays a notification informing users that messages in the protected conversation can only be sent and received through the primary mobile device.