WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop now require biometric authentication

WhatsApp continues to improve the safety of its users. Currently planned add an extra layer of security for logging into WhatsApp Web and the desktop version. So, perhaps the next time you decide to link your WhatsApp account to a web browser or log into the desktop version, you will be prompted to confirm the login request using your registered fingerprint or face unlock feature on your phone.

Before this change, signing in to WhatsApp Web was much easier. All you had to do was scan the QR code with your smartphone camera, and you were instantly logged in. While convenient, it led to some potential privacy breaches as anyone could access a smartphone and scan a QR code to enter a WhatsApp chat.

Ideally, this update should provide an additional layer of security, since now you need your biometrics to log in, and this is certainly a welcome addition for many.

WhatsApp Web will become more secure with biometric authentication.
WhatsApp does not hide this change and says that the authentication process will be handled by the biometric APIs of the respective OS, which means that WhatsApp will not have access to the data stored on your phone anyway.

The new biometric authentication feature is currently rolling out to Android and iOS. This feature will be enabled by default on Android devices that have biometric authentication enabled; the same goes for iOS devices running iOS 14 and above, and you won’t be able to disable this feature. If you want to disable it, then you will have to disable biometric authentication altogether, which is certainly not the most convenient way, nevertheless, WhatsApp will begin to implement this update today.