WhatsApp’s linked device support is great if you want your chats to be available on a laptop, tablet or secondary phone. But a personal conversation might come up at the wrong moment, or you might not want someone borrowing another device to stumble across it.
WhatsApp adds a way to keep selected conversations from these devices. The company expanded Advanced Chat Privacy with a new restriction that limits a chat to each participant’s primary phone. It also renames the setting to Restricted Chat to make its purpose clearer. According to WABetaInfo, the update reaches several testers running WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.39.11 and iOS 26.39.10.20.
What does Restricted Chat add?
The main addition is the ability to block linked device access for anyone in a selected conversation. Advanced Chat Privacy did not offer this control, so chats were available across connected devices even if its existing protections were enabled.
Restricting a conversation also stops third-party clients and AI tools from accessing one’s messages through WhatsApp’s linked device connections. The three controls from Advanced Chat Privacy remain. Participants cannot export the conversation, media does not automatically save to device galleries, and Meta AI features cannot be used in chat. Users can switch to Restricted Chat from the Chat Information screen. A system message then alerts everyone affected that the restrictions are active. For now, the feature only seems to support individual conversations.
When will Restricted Chat be available to everyone?
The feature is rolling out gradually across both beta programs, so installing a compatible version does not guarantee access. WhatsApp has not announced when the new features will reach the stable app.
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