WhatsApp rolls out fingerprint lock amidst spyware scare in India

WhatsApp for Android finally rolls out the most-awaited biometric authentication lock feature, months after it first became available for the iOS version of the Facebook-owned messaging app. Going forward, all Android users can safeguard their WhatsApp chats with fingerprint lock method. Ensuring safety and privacy on WhatsApp has always been a concern among the users.

In  2016, WhatsApp implemented end-to-end encryption to all forms of communications within the app, be it texting or calls (both audio and video). Now, that WhatsApp is also awaiting the RBI approval on the full-fledged rollout of its UPI-based payments system, WhatsApp must ensure the safety and privacy of its users. All major UPI-based online payment wallet apps right from Google Pay to Phonepe, they all make authentication within the app mandatory with the help of either PIN or fingerprint.

Now that almost every other smartphone features a fingerprint sensor, it should not be too long before this feature goes mainstream. Apart from payment security, privacy is also one of the main reasons why the implementation of fingerprint lock in WhatsApp makes sense.

WhatsApp fingerprint lock

Interestingly, the rollout comes amid serious security and privacy concerns raised due to Facebook's lawsuit against an Israeli software company NSO Group on the grounds of alleged cyberespionage.

WhatsApp parent Facebook is suing NSO for hacking into 1,400 WhatsApp accounts with the help of highly sophisticated spyware. The controversy intensified after WhatsApp on Thursday said Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Pegasus. 

The government has also categorically told WhatsApp that it wants the platform to bring in a mechanism to enable tracing of the originator of messages, a demand that WhatsApp has resisted citing privacy issues. The government is also working on tightening rules of social media companies in India that will increase the accountability of online networking and platforms.

In related news, WhatsApp's UPI-based payment service is awaiting regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). WhatsApp had earlier said it hopes to roll out full-fledged payment services in India later this year. Once launched, WhatsApp payments will compete with the likes of Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe.

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