WhatsApp may be developing a passcode protection feature for enhanced security

Popular messaging app WhatsApp may soon get an additional security feature. Reports indicate that the Facebook-owned messenger app could get a six-digit passcode protection feature sometime in the future.

The rumoured details reported by Android Authority have been discovered by a team of text translators for WhatsApp while trying to convert strings from English into Dutch. During the exercise, the translators came across a sign saying "Enter the current six-digit passcode." When the team failed to do so it said "Passcodes don't match. Try again." After some attempts an "Enter a recovery email address" message popped up.

The recovery e-mail message suggests that users could completely lock themselves out of their WhatsApp account if they fail to enter the passcode in the given number of attempts. It is not clear whether this feature would be optional or mandatory.

WhatsApp already has end-to-end encryption enabled for the messenger but probably wants users to have an additional layer of security. The feature may just be in testing mode right now and holds no surety of making it to public versions yet.

In the past, WhatsApp has been reported to be working on an array of features like video calling which have still not shown up on the public updates although they have been accessible to testers in beta modes. With the launch of Google Allo, the company will be looking to introduce more features into the messenger to retain its user base which is over a billion.