This means that even after you’ve unlocked your phone via biometrics or passcode, you’ll have to do so again to look at your inbox. Once you’ve set this, you can also determine the frequency in which you’ll have to unlock it again. You can have your Facebook Mesenger inbox lock itself up the moment you leave the app. Or, you can have it only lock up after an hour of not using it. This is similar to WhatsApp‘s implementation of the feature.
Engadget reports that Facebook is currently testing this feature on a small number of of iOS users. If all goes well, then the feature should make its way to more devices. The same should apply to Android devices as well. That being said, the company did not provide a timeline for such plans. Having to unlock a messaging app again sounds like a useful feature, if you leave your phone unlocked and lying around often. But since it unlocks using the same way your phone unlocks, it does feel a little redundant. After all, anyone who can unlock your phone can unlock Facebook Messenger. (Source: Engadget)
