WhatsApp Adds Fingerprint, Face Unlock Security Layer for Linking WhatsApp Web, Desktop App

Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has announced a new security update for WhatsApp Web and the desktop app. From now on, in order to link WhatsApp Web or Desktop to your WhatsApp account, users will be asked to use their face or fingerprint unlock on their smartphones, before scanning a QR code from the smartphone to link the device. As with everything related to WhatsApp in 2021, the Facebook-owned messaging platform clarified that it does not store any biometric information, and that – by design – it cannot access those details from a smartphone’s operating system. “The face and fingerprint authentication takes place on your device in a privacy preserving manner – by design, WhatsApp cannot access the biometric information stored by your device’s operating system.” Further, WhatsApp also said that the new security update for linking devices will be rolling out, alongside a visual redesign to the WhatsApp Web page on phones, to users with compatible devices over the coming weeks.