“Today we’re starting to roll out a new security feature for WhatsApp Web and Desktop: face and fingerprint unlock when linking devices. WhatsApp does not see your face or fingerprint data,” WhatsApp said in a tweet.
WhatsApp is adding features to its web app to let users sign by scanning their face, thumbprint, or eye. The announcement came on Thursday, which it described as an extra layer of security for its WhatsApp Web and Desktop services. At the present, WhatsApp Web or Desktop users have to link it up to their phone account by scanning a QR code. The upcoming new feature would add biometric login to recognized devices. Authorities said on Apple devices with iOS14 users will be able to use Face ID or Touch ID. Android users will be able to use Face Unlock, Iris Unlock or Fingerprint Unlock.
As with any other use of biometric security on modern smartphones, the new system does not mean that WhatsApp is accessing or collecting your facial scans or fingerprints - the company said in its statement announcing. Rather, it’s just using the same biometric data APIs every other app does in order to access the on-device security system as an additional measure of authentication before it allows users to connect their accounts.
The QR code doesn’t go away; this is a second step users will need to take, similar to how you can choose to implement two steps of authentication on a handset to use the WhatsApp mobile app today. The service is another step forward in WhatsApp creating more feature parity between its flagship mobile apps and how you interact with the service when you use it elsewhere. WhatsApp told TechCrunch that it is going to be adding in more features this year to bring the desktop and mobile experiences closer together.
WhatsApp is pretty clear in outlining that it’s not able to access the biometric information that you will be storing in your device, and that it is using the same standard biometric authentication APIs that other secure apps, like banking apps, use.
