WhatsApp has announced the addition of passkey support to its end-to-end encrypted chat backups. With this new feature, users will now be able to securely access their chat history without having to enter a complex password or long encryption key.

WhatsApp is taking a new approach

Passkeys allow users to quickly encrypt and decrypt their message history using facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, or their device’s screen lock.

With this new feature, WhatsApp offers a more secure and convenient way to access encrypted backups. Users no longer have to enter a password or the long 64-character access key to access their chat backups when they lose or reset their devices.

Instead, they can quickly access their encrypted chat history by scanning their fingerprint, face scan, or entering their screen lock password.

For many years, WhatsApp lacked any encryption layer for chat backups. In 2021, Meta added a system that allows users to protect their backups with end-to-end encryption using a password or a 64-character encryption key.

However, this old method required remembering the backup password or having the encryption key ready when restoring a backup. The newly announced passkey support eliminates the need to search for this password or key.

As with every new feature, WhatsApp is gradually rolling out passkey-encrypted backups to users. Users can activate this new backup method from Settings > Chats > Chat backup > End-to-end encrypted backup.