How to Enable Lock or Two-Step Verification on WhatsApp and Telegram
In this post, you’ll see the steps to lock WhatsApp and Telegram. Also, you’ll view the steps to turn on two-step verification on WhatsApp and Telegram.
I use Google Pixel 4a (Android 13), fingerprint enabled, and iPhone X, Face ID enabled. Let’s begin.
Turn On or Off Screen Lock on WhatsApp For iPhone
Follow these steps to enable screen lock on WhatsApp for iPhone:
In the WhatsApp app, hit the “Settings” tab.
Select “Privacy.” Hit the “Screen Lock” beneath the “Read Receipts” at the bottom.
Enable “Require Face ID.”
You can see these four options: Immediately, After 1 minute, After 15 minutes, and After 1 hour.
Please choose one of them depending on when you want WhatsApp to ask for your Face ID while reopening the app.
That’s it.
Remember that even if WhatsApp is locked, you can answer WhatsApp calls and reply to a message from the notification.
To disable the screen lock on WhatsApp, turn off the “Require Face ID.”
Turn On or Off WhatsApp Fingerprint Lock on Android
Follow the below steps to enable WhatsApp fingerprint lock:
Open the WhatsApp app and hit the three vertical dots. Select Settings > Privacy.
At the bottom, beneath “Blocked contacts,” hit the “Fingerprint lock.” Enable “Unlock with fingerprint.” You need to confirm your fingerprint.
You can see these options in the “Automatically lock” section: Immediately, After 1 minute, and After 30 minutes.
Please choose one of them depending on when you want WhatsApp to ask for your fingerprint while reopening the app.
“Show content in notifications” is enabled by default. This one will let you preview the sender’s name and message in the notification. Turn it off if you wish.
To disable the WhatsApp fingerprint lock, turn off the “Unlock with fingerprint” you have seen in the above steps.
Enable WhatsApp Two-Step Verification
Note: You can’t do this task on WhatsApp Web and Desktop app.
Open WhatsApp. On iPhone, tap “Settings” at the bottom. On Android, tap the three vertical dots at the top right and select “Settings.”
Hit “Account.” Select “Two-Step Verification” and tap “Turn On.”
Provide six digit pin and confirm it.
If you like, you can skip this by using “Skip.” Otherwise, give your email address and tap “Next.” Confirm your email address.
On iPhone, tap “Done” at the top right. On Android, tap “Save” and “Done.”
Now you can see these three options:
- Turn Off
- Change PIN
- Change Email Address
The first option is to turn off the two-step verification, and all you need to do is hit it and tap “Turn Off” in the pop-up.
To change the pin, tap the second option and provide a new one. Confirm it. On Android, tap “Save.”
To change the email address, tap the third one and provide an email address. Tap “Next.” Confirm the email address. Tap “Done” (iPhone) or “Save” (Android).
See:
Enable Passcode Lock or Two-Step Verification in Telegram
Android
Open the Telegram app and hit the three horizontal lines at the top left.
Select Settings > Privacy and Security.
To enable the passcode lock, follow the below steps:
Hit “Passcode Lock” in the “Security” section and tap the “Enable Passcode” button.
Provide the passcode as per your preference and re-enter it.
You can view these options:
- “Change Passcode” – As the name indicates, this one is for changing the passcode.
- “Unlock with Fingerprint” – Enabling this option will let you open the Telegram app with your fingerprint.
- “Auto-lock” – Automatically lock the app if you’re away for a chosen duration. The default is in 1 hour, and you have these durations too – in 1 minute, in 5 minutes, in 5 hours, and Disabled (this one is for turning off this).
- Disabling the “Show Content” in the “App Content in Task Switcher” section means not showing the chat list or any conversation content in the task switcher. But remember, you can’t also take screenshots in the app.
- “Turn Passcode Off” is for turning off the passcode lock. Tap on this one and select “Turn Off” in the pop-up.
Use any of the above if you need to.
If Telegram automatically locks the app as per your chosen duration and you open the app, you’ll need to provide your fingerprint. Or you can choose to give the passcode. Once you provide it, the app is open.
The “Lock” icon at the top of the chat list is for manually locking the app. To unlock, you need to provide the passcode. If you prefer the fingerprint, hit the “Fingerprint” icon and provide your fingerprint.
To enable two-step verification, follow these steps:
Hit “Two-Step Verification” and the “Set Password” button.
Provide the password per your preference, and tap the “Arrow” icon at the bottom.
Re-enter it and tap the “Arrow” icon. Create a hint for your password, or skip it. I’m doing the latter.
You can provide a recovery email or skip it. I’m doing the former here. Get the code from Telegram from the email they sent you and enter it here.
Hit the “Return to Settings” button, and you can view these options: Change Password, Turn Password Off, and Change Recovery Email.
Use any of the above if you need to.
To disable, tap “Turn Password Off” and “Disable” in the pop-up.
iPhone
In the Telegram app, tap the “Settings” tab and “Privacy and Security.”
Follow the below steps to enable passcode lock:
Hit “Passcode & Face ID” and the “Turn Passcode On” button.
Provide the passcode, re-enter it, and that’s all.
You can see these four options now:
- “Turn Passcode Off” – For turning off the passcode lock. Tap on it and hit “Turn Passcode Off.”
- “Change Passcode” – For changing the passcode.
- “Auto-Lock” – Automatically lock the app if you’re away for a selected duration. The default is If away for 1 hour, and you have these durations too – If away for 1 min, If away for 5 min, If away for 5 hours, and Disabled (this one is for turning off this).
- “Unlock with Face ID” – Enable this option if you want to unlock the Telegram app using Face ID.
Use any of the above if you prefer.
The “Lock” icon at the top of the “Chats” tab is for manually locking the app. To unlock, provide the passcode. If you prefer Face ID, hit the “Face ID” icon.
Follow the below steps to turn on the two-step verification on Telegram:
Tap “Two-Step Verification” and the “Set Additional Password” button.
Provide the password, re-enter it, and tap the “Create Password” button.
Create a hint for the password and provide the recovery email address if you wish. I skip the former, provide the email address and tap the “Continue” button.
Provide the code which you’ve received in the email from Telegram. Tap the “Return to Settings” button, and that’s it.
To disable, tap “Turn Password Off” and “Disable.”
See: How to Enable Auto-Delete on Telegram
Desktop
In the Telegram Desktop app, hit the three horizontal lines at the top left and select “Settings.”
Click “Privacy and Security.”
To turn on the passcode lock, follow these steps:
In the “Security” section, hit the “Local passcode.” Provide the passcode, re-enter it, hit “Save Passcode,” and that’s all.
You can see these three options:
- Change passcode: This one is for changing the passcode.
- Auto-Lock if away for: Automatically lock the Desktop app if you’re away for a chosen duration. The available durations are 1 minute, 5 minutes, 1 hour, and 5 hours, and the option to set the custom duration.
- Disable passcode: This one is for turning off the passcode. Hit it and click “Disable” in the pop-up.
Use any of the above if you like.
Hit the “Lock” icon on the left sidebar to lock the app. To unlock, provide the passcode and hit the “Submit” button.
To turn on two-step verification, follow these steps:
Hit the “Two-Step Verification” and click the “Create Password” button.
Please enter the password and re-enter it. Hit the “Continue” button.
Provide a hint for the password, or skip it, which I’m doing here. Please enter your recovery email address or skip it. I’m doing the former here.
Provide your email address and hit the “Save and Finish” button. You need to enter the code you received in the email from Telegram.
That’s all. To turn two-step verification off, hit “Disable cloud password.” In the pop-up, hit “Disable.”
Web
Note: You can’t enable passcode lock on the Telegram Web.
To turn on two-step verification, follow these steps:
In the Web, hit the three horizontal lines at the top left.
Select Settings > Privacy and Security > Two-Step Verification.
Hit the “Set Password” button. Provide the password and hit the “Continue” button.
Re-enter it and click on the “Continue” button.
You can provide a hint for the password now or skip this (I’m doing this).
Provide your recovery email address, or skip it. I’m doing the former. Provide the code that is in the email you’ve received from Telegram.
That’s all. You can turn it off by hitting “Turn Password Off” and “Disable” in the pop-up.
