Facebook Announced New Privacy and Security Feature for Messenger

Facebook announced a new privacy feature that adds another layer of security to your private messages and stops people from accessing them.

The new app lock feature helps prevent other people from accessing your chats. The app lock is now available for iPhones and iPads, the social media giant is working on the new Android version.

Facebook APP Lock

The App lock introduced by Facebook works like any other app locks software, the app gets locked automatically after usage and to open it requires an authentication method like Face ID, Touch ID, or fingerprint.

“This optional feature gives you the confidence to know that if a friend or a family member needs to borrow your phone, they won’t be able to access your chats,” Facebook said.

The new feature is found under the new Privacy settings section, which gives users a single location to control features like App Lock and what users they’ve blocked.

The privacy section also gives you an “easy to access settings and features like the audience for your stories, muted stories, messaging settings, and blocked people.”

To give users more control over who can reach and contact them, Facebook is working on new controls, said Jay Sullivan, Director of Product Management, Messenger Privacy and Safety.

“We’re always working to give you more control over your privacy, so as we introduce more privacy features, you’ll have this centralized place to find them,” Facebook said.

We’re also exploring more ways to protect your privacy and safety when someone you don’t know sends you a message. We’ll be testing a feature similar to what exists on Instagram and WhatsApp that blurs images in your message requests folder,” Sullivan said.

The recent Twitter hack in an eye-opening cybersecurity breach for the social media platforms as well as their users. The attack seems well-prepared and sophisticated.