This week, Facebook announced a host of new privacy features for its Messenger app that will give users added protections and greater control over their settings. According to the social media giant, it will begin testing tools that will allow users to control who is able to message them, as well as a feature that will automatically blur images sent by users who aren’t your Facebook friend. However, the most immediate tool that will be made available is App Lock, a feature requiring face or touch ID to access Messenger chats. That means you would have an extra layer of security for your messages even if your phone was already unlocked.

Facebook must realize there’s a serious interest in private messaging, because it was only a month ago that the company revealed it was testing this product.

“We want to give people more choices and controls to protect their private messages, and recently, we began testing a feature that lets you unlock the Messenger app using your device’s settings,” a Facebook spokesperson told Engadget then. “It’s an added layer of privacy to prevent someone else from accessing your messages.”

These seem like pretty minor security tweaks in the big picture, but when it comes to protecting our privacy, every little bit helps.

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