Facebook wants more Messenger security options, tests new iOS feature
When enabled, the experimental feature will ask for authentication before giving access to Messenger chats, and will use the same authentication method that is currently used for unlocking the phone itself. App Lock, as it's called, also allows for selecting when to require Face ID, either immediately after closing Messenger, or up to an hour after its last usage.
Screenshot of the experimental App Lock feature.
A Facebook spokesperson has told Engadget the following, regarding App Lock:
We want to give people more choices and controls to protect their private messages, and recently, we began testing a feature that lets you unlock the Messenger app using your device’s settings. It’s an added layer of privacy to prevent someone else from accessing your messages.
In related news, Facebook was recently fined by Canada's Competition Bureau (CCB) in the amounts of $6.5 million. According to the CCB, the reason for this is Facebook improperly sharing personal user data with third-party developers, in addition to making false or misleading claims about the privacy of Canadian users' personal data. In a statement, Facebook did not agree with the allegations, but did agree to pay the fine.
Prior to that, Mark Zuckerberg's company also got fined by the US, the UK, Australia and other countries over the Cambridge Analytica situation, where the personal data of 87 million users was obtained by the analytics firm via an online survey.
