WhatsApp Restricted Chat locks a conversation to your primary phone
WhatsApp is developing Restricted Chat, a per-chat setting blocking conversation sync to linked devices, defeating third-party clients and AI agents.
Restricted Chat, spotted in Android beta version 2.26.36.5 but not yet enabled, keeps a chosen conversation exclusively on the primary phone, out of reach of WhatsApp Web and linked secondary devices. It extends Advanced Chat Privacy controls: media is not auto-saved to gallery, export is blocked, and messages cannot be handed to Meta AI, with system messages notifying participants of changes. WhatsApp has not announced a release date.