How to Hide Locked Chats in WhatsApp

WhatsApp introduced the Lock Chat feature to increase privacy in chats. This feature lets you lock a specific chat and view the messages only with your device authentication. In addition, WhatsApp introduced a new trick, which is to hide the Locked Chats from the app’s home screen. If you wish to hide your locked chats on WhatsApp to enhance your privacy over chats, then read this guide completely.

Steps to Lock Chats on WhatsApp

If you haven’t locked the chat on your Android Phone or iPhone, open WhatsApp and navigate to the Chat you want to lock. Long-press the chat and click the option Lock Chat from the pop-up. Hit Continue to move further and use your Device Authentication to lock the chat. You can now see the Locked Chat section at the top of the chat list. To access the chat every time, select it and complete the device authentication to open the chat.

How to Hide Locked Chats on WhatsApp

Now to the best part: once you have locked the chats, you can easily hide them inside WhatsApp.

1. Click the Locked chat option from the home screen and complete the authentication to open the section.

2. Inside the Locked chats, tap the three-dotted icon (⋮) or Settings at the top right and select Chat Lock Settings.

3. In the next step, toggle ON the Hide locked chats option.

4. You will be asked to create a secret code for your chat. Select the Create secret code button to get started. Make sure to create a unique secret code. You can set alphabets, numbers, or emoji characters as your secret code. You can also use a mix of all these characters as well.

5. Enter the secret code you want for the chat and click Next. Type the code again for confirmation and click Done.

6. After doing this, return to the WhatsApp home screen, and you can’t see the Locked Chat section. That’s it. You have now hidden the Locked chat section and the chat on your WhatsApp app.

Note: The Hide feature is not available for the WhatsApp web version. However, if you have already hidden a locked chat on the mobile version, the respective chat will be WhatsApp web.

How to Find Locked Chats on WhatsApp with Secret Code

1. To access the hidden chat, tap the Search field on the home screen and type the secret code you have created.

2. Now, you will see the Locked Chats section or locked contact name. Click on it and complete the device authentication to access your hidden chat on WhatsApp.

How to Unlock Chats in WhatsApp on Android Phone or iPhone

Have you decided to remove the chat lock from WhatsApp? Then, you can do it easily within the app. To Unhide the locked chats on WhatsApp, go through the steps below.

1. Go to the hidden locked chat on WhatsApp by typing the secret code.

2. Long-press the chat and click the Unlock Chat option from the dropdown. Now, you have unlocked the chat on your WhatsApp.

Unlock All Locked Chats on WhatsApp

Have you forgotten the secret code you used to hide the locked chats on WhatsApp? Then, simply unlock all the Locked Chats on WhatsApp. To do this, go to Settings > Privacy > Chat Lock > Unlock and clear locked chats. This will remove all the locked chats on WhatsApp in one step.

How to Fix Hidden Chat Lock on WhatsApp Not Showing

Various users have found an issue with their hidden locked chats not showing up on WhatsApp. If you’re one of them, don’t worry; this happens due to a technical glitch in the software. Follow these troubleshooting steps to fix this issue in no time.

• Close the WhatsApp application and reopen it again. This will refresh the WhatsApp application and remove any temporary glitches.
• If your WhatsApp app is outdated, you will face this issue. So, update the WhatsApp app to the latest version.
• Occasionally, the accumulated WhatsApp cache files will hinder the app’s functionality. Clear the app’s cache files to resolve the problem.
• If nothing works, simply uninstall and reinstall the application to fix the problem.

Frequently Asked Questions