A couple of days ago, Facebook’s Messenger app received support for mobile screen sharing on Android and iOS devices, which can be done with up to eight people in a group chat. While privacy concerns are associated with the feature, Facebook is compensating for it with new privacy updates.
You can now use biometric security to lock Messenger chats with Touch ID, as well as Face ID on flagship iPhone models. Once you close the Messenger app, it will lock itself and prompt you for biometric authentication upon launching the app next time. The feature is called App Lock, which is one of the handfuls of privacy and security options Facebook has added to its services in the last few months. In case you are wondering, the feature was first added to WhatsApp due to high demands from a vast majority of users.
Although the feature is available for iOS users, Android users will have to wait for now. Since the feature has been in the testing phase for Apple devices for quite some time, Android users might expect App Lock to be implemented in Messenger in the next few months or so.
If you have the iPhone X or any one of the newer iPhone models with Face ID functionality, you can follow this guide to learn how to lock Facebook Messenger chats behind Face ID.

Lock Facebook Messenger Chats with Face ID

Before you follow the steps below, make sure to update to the latest version of Messenger from the App Store. After that, you can go through the following instructions:

1. Launch the Messenger app from the iOS Home Screen.
2. Now tap the profile icon on the top-left corner of the app to open the settings page.
3. After that, scroll down and tap the Privacy option.
4. Select App Lock from the Privacy menu, then tap the slider next to Require Face ID on the following page.
5. You will be prompted by a dialog box to allow Messenger to use Face ID. Tap OK to proceed.
6. You can now choose between different time periods, after which the Messenger app will lock itself. It can be done immediately after closing the app, after a minute, after 15 minutes, or after an hour.

That’s it! Your Messenger chats are now secured behind Apple’s secure Face ID authentication. The next time you open up Messenger after the chosen time period, you will be asked to verify your identity with Face ID.

Wrapping Up

Once you enable App Lock in Messenger to secure your chats with Face ID, you can freely give your phone to someone else without the fear of leaking your private DMs.
Facebook has also revealed its future plans to bring new features to the Messenger platform, including media blurring applied on unapproved chat sessions, as well as advanced controls over who can send you direct messages via Messenger. It’s great to see Facebook bringing popular features from its other products to its existing chat service, and it’s benefitting from an end-user perspective.
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