By Pascal Oparada
Social Media/Tech Reporter
Instant Messaging giant, WhatsApp is rolling out its much-anticipated fingerprint feature for its Android users.
The feature is currently being tested in the BETA app.
According toWABetaInfo, WhatsApp for Android Beta v2.19.221 allows users to try out the fingerprint lock feature before the feature makes its way to the stable release channel.
Screen lock is available for users on the Beta release, and who are using it on Android Marshmallow and above. Of course, users also need to have a fingerprint sensor on theirphones to use the feature.
Users can find the feature nesting under WhatsApp Settings > Account > Privacy > Fingerprint Lock.
With the option enabled, you can still reply to messages from notifications and answer incoming WhatsApp calls. The authentication is required only when you open WhatsApp.
You can choose to hide content in notifications too, once fingerprint unlock is enabled. WhatsApp also lets you choose from the locking interval, though the time interval options available feel a bit restrictive.
The widget content is hidden by default when you enable the feature, though if you wanted privacy in your chats, you wouldn’t be adding a preview widget to your home screen.
WhatsApp is also reportedly making use of Android’s fingerprint APIs, so your fingerprint data is only used on-device for authentication and not sent to Facebook’s servers.