- WhatsApp is testing a privacy tool called Restricted Chat that keeps a conversation on your main phone only.
- The feature blocks that chat from appearing on WhatsApp Web, desktop apps, or other linked phones.
- WhatsApp has not launched Restricted Chat yet, and testers cannot turn it on for now.
WhatsApp is building a new privacy setting. It could change where your most private chats live. The tool is called Restricted Chat, and it keeps a single conversation locked to your main device.
Right now, WhatsApp lets people link an account to several devices. You can open your chats on a laptop, a tablet, a browser, or a second phone. That convenience comes with a cost. Each extra device is another place where your messages can sit.
Restricted Chat aims to shrink that risk. According to media reports, the tool appeared inside a WhatsApp beta build for Android. The version number is 2.26.36.5. WhatsApp has not confirmed a launch date. The setting also does not work for beta testers yet.
How the New Setting Locks a Chat to One Phone
Restricted Chat works on a single conversation at a time. You would turn it on for one chat, not your whole account. Every other chat keeps working the way it always has.
Once you switch it on, WhatsApp stops syncing that chat to linked devices. The chat stays on your main phone alone. It would not show up on WhatsApp Web. It would not appear on a desktop app either. A second phone tied to your account would not see it.
This gives people a way to protect sensitive talks. You could still use your laptop for everyday chats. You would simply keep the sensitive ones off every screen but your phone.
WhatsApp already lets users link an account to several devices. That setup helps people switch between a phone and a computer with ease. But it also means a private message can sit in more places than one.
A browser tab left open on a shared computer could expose a conversation. A work laptop could do the same thing. Restricted Chat closes that gap by keeping the chat off those extra screens entirely.
Restricted Chat Builds on an Older Privacy Setting
It does not stand alone. It builds on a feature WhatsApp already released called Advanced Chat Privacy. WhatsApp rolled out Advanced Chat Privacy last year as an extra layer of protection for single chats.
WhatsApp has been testing other ways to strengthen account security as well. One earlier privacy-focused feature adds fingerprint authentication for Android users, giving people another way to protect access to their WhatsApp accounts.
That older setting already blocks a few things. People in the chat cannot export the full conversation. Photos and videos will not save automatically to a phone’s gallery. Meta AI also cannot read or use messages from that chat.
Restricted Chat keeps every one of those protections in place. It then adds one more layer on top, the block on linked-device access. So a restricted chat would stop exports, block gallery saves, keep Meta AI out, and also stay off every other screen tied to your account.
WhatsApp also plans a small but useful change. The company will show a message inside the chat whenever someone switches Restricted Chat on or off. Everyone in that conversation would see the update right away. Nobody gets left in the dark about a privacy change.
WABetaInfo also notes a reason behind the new name. Calling the setting “Advanced Chat Privacy” made some users think regular chats lacked strong protection. Every WhatsApp chat already carries end-to-end encryption, restricted or not. Renaming the feature helps clear up that confusion.
Who Stands to Gain the Most from this Change
Certain groups would likely welcome this tool the most. Journalists often trade sensitive tips over chat apps. Executives may discuss deals before they go public. Legal teams often share confidential case details. Activists in risky regions may need to hide who they talk to. Restricted Chat gives all of them a simple way to shield one chat without changing how they use the app for everything else.
The feature could also block a sneakier threat. Some people connect their WhatsApp account to unofficial or modified web clients. A few of those tools quietly feed chat messages into AI systems built by outside developers. Since Restricted Chat keeps a protected chat off every linked device, those outside tools would have nothing to read.
Still, Restricted Chat will not solve every privacy problem. A person inside the chat could still take a screenshot. They could still copy the text and send it elsewhere. They could photograph the screen with another device. Restricted Chat mainly closes the easy paths, the ones that come from linked devices and bulk access, not every possible leak.
For now, there is nothing to switch on. Installing the beta version will not reveal the feature, since WhatsApp has not activated it for testers yet. The company has not shared a timeline for a wider release either.
Until Restricted Chat arrives, people can still take a few simple steps. Open your WhatsApp settings and check your linked devices often. Remove any device you no longer use or do not recognize. That single habit already closes one of the same gaps this new feature is designed to fix.
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About the Author
Farwa is an experienced InfoSec writer and cybersecurity journalist skilled in writing articles related to cybersecurity, AI, DevOps, Big Data, Cloud security, VPNs, IAM, and Cloud Computing. Also a contributor on Tripwire.com, Infosecurity Magazine, Security Boulevard, DevOps.com, and CPO Magazine.
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