NadeemiBeta

WhatsApp "Restricted Chat": What the New Beta Setting Really Protects

By The Nadeemi team · Checked on

Part of: Is it encrypted? The app-by-app guide

Checked against WABetaInfo's reports and press coverage, 6 November 2026. This is a beta feature: names and details can change before release.

WhatsApp is testing a new per-chat switch called Restricted Chat. It is the upgraded version of Advanced Chat Privacy (2025) and it is rolling out to some beta testers on Android and iOS this autumn. If you have heard "WhatsApp chats can now be locked down", this is what people mean, and it is narrower than it sounds.

Short answer: Restricted Chat is an optional, per-chat setting, off by default, for one-to-one chats only (groups are not supported yet). When it is on, the chat stays on your main phone (not on WhatsApp Web or linked devices), media is not auto-saved to the gallery, the chat cannot be exported, and Meta AI cannot be used in it. Everyone in the chat gets a system message. It does not stop screenshots, photos of the screen, or the other person copying what you wrote.

What Restricted Chat does (beta, as reported)

According to WABetaInfo (2 October 2026), which spotted it in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.39.11:

Coverage: Help Net Security (14 Sep 2026), Cybernews, Gulf News. WhatsApp has not announced a date for the stable app.

What it does not do

Messages in WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted whether or not you use this switch. Restricted Chat is about where copies of the chat end up after it arrives, not about the encryption on the way.

Why this matters: AI and linked devices

The two most interesting limits are Meta AI and linked devices. In 2026 Meta added more AI features to WhatsApp, and many people want to be sure a sensitive conversation stays out of them. Linked devices are the other common leak: a laptop left signed in at work, or an old tablet at home, quietly shows every chat. Keeping one chat on the main phone closes that gap.

How to use it (when you have it)

  1. Make sure WhatsApp is updated (beta testers first).
  2. Open the one-to-one chat > tap the name > look for Restricted chat.
  3. Turn it on. The other person sees a system message.
  4. For extra care, also turn on disappearing messages for that chat and check that no old linked devices are signed in (Settings > Linked devices).

How Nadeemi compares

Nadeemi is the app we build, so weigh this section accordingly. Nadeemi has no AI features at all, so there is no assistant to keep out of a chat. There is no phone number: people see your name and @handle. Chats are encrypted on your device with MLS in the beta (we label them "end-to-end encryption coming" until an independent audit is published), each of your devices has to be approved before it can read new messages, and you can set disappearing messages per chat or as the default for new chats. Like every app, Nadeemi cannot stop screenshots, and we say so.

FAQ

Is WhatsApp Restricted Chat available to everyone? No. As of 6 November 2026 it is rolling out to some beta testers on Android and iOS. WhatsApp has not given a release date.

Does Restricted Chat block screenshots? The reports do not say so. Assume screenshots are still possible.

Does Restricted Chat work in groups? Not yet. It works in one-to-one chats only.

Is it the same as Chat Lock? No. Chat Lock hides a chat behind your fingerprint or a code on your own phone. Restricted Chat limits where the chat can go: linked devices, exports, the gallery and Meta AI.

Will the other person know I turned it on? Yes. WhatsApp shows a system message in the chat.

Sources (checked 6 November 2026)

Names of other apps are trademarks of their owners, used only for comparison. Nadeemi is not affiliated with any of them.

Drafted with AI help and checked by a person on the date above.

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