The social media giant Facebook added an extra layer of security when opening Messenger on an iPhone or iPad.
The app itself can now be locked upon or shortly after closing, requiring you to use an authentication method like Face ID or Touch ID to open it back up. That means you could unlock your phone and let a friend borrow it, and that person still wouldn’t be able to access your Messenger chats.
“App Lock lets you add another layer of security to your private messages and helps prevent other people from accessing them. This optional feature gives you the confidence to know that if a friend or family member needs to borrow your phone, they won’t be able to access your chats.” Jay Sullivan, Director of Product Management, Messenger Privacy and Safety wrote in a blog post.
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. The feature is available today on iPhone and iPad and will come to Android in the next few months.
You can find this feature in the new Privacy settings section. 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.
