【Eroticism and scopophilia】

WhatsApp's new version for iOS has gotten a simple but Eroticism and scopophiliaimportant upgrade: The app now supports Apple's Face ID face recognition tech, as well as Touch ID fingerprint scanner.

The update has gone live in WhatsApp's version 2.19.20 for iOS, which is available to all users now.

CARD ID: 417965

---

You May Also Like

---

---

To turn the feature on, go to Settings > Account > Privacy and enable Screen Lock. When it's on, you'll need to use Touch ID or Face ID to unlock WhatsApp, though you'll still be able to reply to messages from notifications and answer calls, even when the app is locked. You'll also be able to set whether you want the app to require Touch ID/Face ID immediately or after 1 minute, 15 minutes, and 1 hour.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The feature is quite a big deal for WhatsApp, which touts end-to-end encryption and privacy/security in general as an important feature. Note, however, that both Touch ID and Face ID are less secure than using a good passphrase to protect your phone.

Notably, Mashable's own Ray Wong recently got the ability to use Face ID with his iOS Instagram app; Instagram confirmed to us they're testing the feature.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, made the news recently when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained his plan for merging it with the company's other two major social apps, Messenger and Instagram. One of the advantages of that would be having end-to-end encryption across all of those products. However, Zuckerberg said the plans to merge these three apps are in a really early stage and that it may not happen until 2020.

CARD ID: 417966

Topics Facebook Social Media WhatsApp

• Deals
• Science
• Tech
• Life
• Shopping
• Digital Culture
• Entertainment
• Social Good

• Colman Domingo’s Craigslist love story with husband Raúl has the internet swooning
• Samsung might soon launch a $1,100 version of the Galaxy Fold
• Apple now lists 2013 MacBook Air and 2014 MacBook Pro as 'vintage products'
• Latest Google Chrome update lets users sort tabs by groups and colors
• Best Sonos deal: Save $50 on Sonos Era 100
• Poco F2 Pro: Powerful Samsung Galaxy S20+ rival for less than half the price
• 'The Last Dance' is the greatest sports fix of the pandemic
• There's finally an easy way to see 'Retweets with Comments' on Twitter
• Analyzing Graphics Card Pricing: May 2018
• Guy Fieri and Bill Murray are having a nacho cook

• Instagram's new security feature makes it easier to block apps from your account
• CNN asked the Democratic candidates about Ellen, instead of asking them *literally anything else
• This cosplayer might be the most convincing Taylor Swift lookalike yet
• Giuliani associates owned businesses named 'Fraud Guarantee' and 'Mafia Rave'
• It sure seems like Trump already violated Twitch's community guidelines
• Michelle Obama announces upcoming trip advocating for girls' education
• Katy Perry's 'Chained to the Rhythm' is cotton candy political pop
• Apple unveils Beats Solo Pro with noise cancellation and 22 hours of battery
• India plans to rename all its airports and it makes a lot of sense
• Blue Ivy Carter wore a perfect tiny pink suit at the Grammys

• Watch how an old Venus spacecraft tumbled before crashing to Earth
• Samsung might soon launch a $1,100 version of the Galaxy Fold
• How to download free ebooks and digital audiobooks from public libraries
• The internet continues to give men's rompers the meme treatment
• Stop Preordering Video Games
• Porn streamed on a train station video display and commuters definitely noticed
• Dell's new XPS 15 and XPS 17 laptops have razor
• All of the 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend' endings
• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for May 19: Tips to solve Connections #238
• Amazon launches faster Fire HD 8 tablets with more storage

• Samsung Unpacked stream is set for May 12, 2025
• Volvo's Polestar 2 with Google is actually on its way, unlike most new EVs
• Australian fisherman plays a game of tug of war with a pesky shark
• Watch an alligator eat a huge fish on a golf course in *DRUMROLL* Florida
• Character AI reveals AvatarFX, a new AI video generator
• Here are the best cheap headphones for working out and daily life
• Amazon to sell its own face shields and this is normal now
• Watch an alligator eat a huge fish on a golf course in *DRUMROLL* Florida
• Impact of Temperature on Intel CPU Performance
• Avril Lavigne tweets photo, gets instantly trolled by conspiracy theorists