Learn effective privacy solutions to hide WhatsApp chats on your iPhone or Android device. Conceal your important WhatsApp conversations with these methods.
Part 1. How to Hide Specific WhatsApp Chats via Archive Feature
The Archive feature is the easiest built-in way to hide chats from the main WhatsApp list on both iPhone and Android.
Archive Chats on iPhone
To archive WhatsApp chats on iPhone, follow these simple steps:
- Open WhatsApp on your iPhone.
- Locate the chats that you would like to archive then slide your finger across the chat or person.
- Now simply tap on the “Archive” icon and the chat will be removed from the main screen.
archive whatsapp chats iphone
Archive Chats on Android
Follow these simple steps to hide WhatsApp chats on Android:
- Open WhatsApp on your device.
- Locate the chats that you want to archive then tap and hold on the chat or person until a checkmark appears on it.
- Tap on the “Archive” icon at the top bar and just like that the chat will be removed from the main window.
archive whatsapp chats android
Notes about the Archive Feature
Before you rely on Archive as a privacy tool, keep these limits in mind:
- Doing this will not delete the chat. It is still on the device and can be accessed anytime you want.
- Archiving the chat will not create a backup of the chat on the SD card or cloud.
- If the person sends you a new message, the new message will appear at the top of the screen identical to what new messages often do and will no longer be hidden.
- Android users can find archived messages at the very bottom of the screen while iPhone users can find the archived chats by scrolling to the top and then slightly scroll up again.
Part 2. Hide Specific WhatsApp Chats without the Archive Feature
If you don’t want to use the archive feature to hide WhatsApp chats, then we recommend using an app like GBWhatsApp. This is basically a tweaked version of WhatsApp that allows you to do several things you can’t do with the ordinary WhatsApp including hiding some of the chats.
On iPhone, GBWhatsApp only works on a jailbroken device. It also carries account-risk concerns because unofficial WhatsApp builds can trigger warnings or suspension.
With that said, here’s how to use GBWhatsApp to hide specific WhatsApp chats:
- Uninstall WhatsApp from your device and then go to Settings > Security to enable the installation of apps from unknown sources.
- Now go to the official GBWhatsApp website to get the instructions to install the app on your device.
- Open GBWhatsApp on your device and proceed to verify your phone number just as you would with the ordinary WhatsApp.
- Once GBWhatsApp is set up, locate, and select the chats that you would like to hide. Tap on “more” (the three dots at the top) and select “Hide” from the options that appear.
- Create a separate pattern for the hidden chats and keep it different from the lock screen pattern you already use on the device.
hide WhatsApp chats using GBWhatsApp
hide whatsapp chats GBWhatsApp
If you would like to view the hidden WhatsApp chats, open GBWhatsApp then tap on the WhatsApp icon on the top-left corner. Verify the lock pattern to view all hidden chats here. To unhide the chats, simply tap on the “three-dots” at the top and select “Mark as Unread”.
Part 3. How to Hide All WhatsApp Messages
The two solutions above will be useful when you want to hide selected chats. But if you are concerned about your privacy enough to want to hide all your Chats, we recommend using a third-party tool like ChatLock+. The following is a simple guide to help you use this app to lock all your WhatsApp chats:
- Go to the Google Play Store and search for the ChatLock+ app. Install it on to your device.
- Once installed, launch the app and it will turn on the option to lock WhatsApp. Keep in mind that this option will only appear if you have given the app the necessary permissions during installation.
- Tap “WhatsApp” to turn on the app lock, then create a 4-digit PIN that you will use whenever you want to open WhatsApp.
whatsapp chat locker app
If your version of WhatsApp supports fingerprint lock, you can use that built-in option instead of a separate locker app. Go to Settings > Privacy > Fingerprint Lock and choose how quickly WhatsApp should lock again after use.
Sometimes you can use WhatsApp for highly sensitive conversations that you don’t want everyone to be privy. In this case, you may want to hide the messages from other people. Depending on how easy it is for other people to access your WhatsApp account and the sensitive nature of the messages you want to hide, you can select one or more of the solutions we’ve outlined above.
Let us know in the comments section below if you were able to successfully hide the messages and which of the methods above worked best for you.
