WhatsApp’s linked devices feature has become one of the app’s most convenient tools, letting the same account run on a laptop, tablet or second phone. It also creates an obvious weak spot: every extra screen logged into your account is another place a private conversation can be seen. A new beta feature now aims to close that gap for the chats that matter most.
The feature is called Restricted Chat, and it builds on the Advanced Chat Privacy setting WhatsApp introduced last year. The headline change is a new option that confines a conversation to each participant’s primary phone. Once it’s switched on, the chat won’t appear on any linked device for anyone involved, not just the person who enabled it. That was the clear blind spot in the earlier setting, which added protections but still let protected messages sync across every connected screen.
The restriction has a second, arguably more interesting effect. Messages in a restricted conversation can no longer be reached by third-party clients or AI tools that connect through WhatsApp’s linked-device system. As more desktop assistants and unofficial apps plug into messaging accounts, that gives users a straightforward way to wall off specific conversations without disconnecting everything else.
The existing safeguards carry over unchanged. Participants can’t export the chat, shared photos and videos won’t save automatically to the phone’s gallery, and Meta AI can’t be invoked inside the conversation. The setting lives in the chat info screen, and turning it on triggers a system message so everyone knows the rules have changed. For now, it appears limited to one-on-one chats, with no sign yet of group support.
The rename itself is telling. Advanced Chat Privacy was a vague label that didn’t explain what users were actually getting, while Restricted Chat describes the outcome plainly. Privacy tools only work if people understand them well enough to switch them on.
There are limits worth keeping in mind. The setting doesn’t stop someone from simply photographing a screen, and it relies on all participants accepting a less convenient experience. Anyone who regularly replies from a laptop will feel that trade-off immediately.
Testing is under way in WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.39.11 and iOS version 26.39.10.20, though the rollout is gradual and installing either build doesn’t guarantee access. WhatsApp hasn’t said when the feature will reach the stable app, or whether group chats will eventually get the same protection.
