WhatsApp is currently testing a new privacy feature called Restricted Chat. This feature lets users restrict specific conversations so they can only be accessed through their primary phone, and remain unavailable on other devices linked to their WhatsApp account.
In practice, this means a conversation restricted through this feature can’t be opened via WhatsApp Web, the desktop app, a tablet, or a secondary phone registered as a linked device.
Who Has Access So Far
Restricted Chat is now rolling out to a portion of WhatsApp beta users on both Android and iOS. The feature builds on WhatsApp’s existing Advanced Chat Privacy tools, but adds an extra layer of protection against conversation access from linked devices.
What Changes When You Turn It On
Once Restricted Chat is enabled, WhatsApp applies several restrictions to that conversation. Photos and videos from the chat won’t automatically save to the device, the conversation can’t be exported, and Meta AI features become unavailable within that specific chat.
The most notable restriction, though, is that the conversation simply won’t appear on linked devices at all. This means anyone opening WhatsApp from a computer or secondary device won’t be able to access a chat that’s been restricted this way.
According to WABetaInfo, this step is also designed to prevent conversation participants from using unofficial clients or AI agents to access messages through linked devices.
Restricted Chat vs. Chat Lock: What’s the Difference?
Despite sounding similar, Restricted Chat differs from Chat Lock, a feature that’s been available on WhatsApp for some time.
Chat Lock is used to lock and separate sensitive conversations from the main chat list, requiring device authentication to unlock them.
Restricted Chat doesn’t hide chats in the same way. Instead, this feature focuses on restricting the conversation’s content and how messages can be accessed or used elsewhere.
How to Turn It On
Restricted Chat is opt-in and must be manually enabled through a conversation’s info page. Once activated, WhatsApp displays a notification within the chat so other participants are aware the conversation’s privacy settings have changed.
WhatsApp continues protecting conversations with end-to-end encryption regardless of whether Restricted Chat is enabled. So this new feature doesn’t mean regular WhatsApp chats are somehow unsafe, it simply provides an additional restriction layer for conversations users consider particularly sensitive.
Current Limitations
For now, Restricted Chat is reportedly only available for individual conversations. It’s not yet known when a similar feature might be extended to group chats.
The feature has been spotted among some WhatsApp beta users on Android version 2.26.39.11 and iOS beta version 26.39.10.20. Rollout is happening gradually, so users who’ve already installed these beta versions won’t necessarily get access right away.
WhatsApp also hasn’t announced when Restricted Chat will roll out broadly to all Android and iPhone users.
Restricted Chat addresses a genuinely practical privacy gap, the fact that linked devices, shared computers, or AI-powered clients could potentially expose sensitive conversations beyond the primary phone they were intended for. For users who regularly link WhatsApp to a work computer or shared device, this feature could become a meaningful tool once it rolls out more broadly.
