You Can Now Restore WhatsApp Chats Without a Password, Here's How

WhatsApp, the Meta-owned messaging service that has over three billion users worldwide, is now adding passkey authentication for chat backups. This new feature will permit users to recover their conversations by using their biometrics such as a fingerprint, face recognition, or the device’s screen lock, thus doing away with the use of conventional passwords or long encryption keys.

WhatsApp has been using end-to-end encryption for its users' messages and calls protection against any third party, including Meta and Google, for quite some time. Backup encryption was offered in 2021, but users were still required to set a password or protect a 64-character encryption key if they wanted to restore their chats. The passkey support makes it easier and more convenient to switch devices or reinstall the app.

To use this feature, the user first has to open WhatsApp on their main device, then go to Settings > Chats > End-to-end encrypted backup. When the account is set to use passkeys, the user may immediately choose either biometric or device-based authentication to restore chat backups. Meta informs that the process of making this feature available will be a slow one, so there is a possibility that some users will have to wait.