8 WhatsApp Features to Boost Your Security and Privacy

New York: WhatsApp is used by over 3 billion people around the world. That makes it a target for attackers. In December, researchers found a risky way called GhostPairing. This trick lets attackers link their browser to your WhatsApp by fooling you.

In November, Austrian researchers used WhatsApp’s tool to find billions of phone numbers. This led to sharing lots of profile photos and other information.

WhatsApp has strong protection with end-to-end encryption. This means only you and the person you chat with can see your messages. It also has new features like passkey-encrypted backups and better AI technology for privacy.

You can also use some special features to boost your own security. Here are eight important ones you should know.

Privacy Checkup

Start with the Privacy Checkup in the Settings. This lets you choose who can see your profile photo, status, and other info. You can set your last Seen/Online status to Nobody for extra privacy.

You can also stop unwanted calls and messages by blocking contacts. You can decide who adds you to groups and silence unknown callers too.

Disappearing Messages

Even with great encryption, your messages can still be read if your device is not secure. Disappearing messages help with this. You can set a time limit for messages to show before they delete themselves. Choose between 24 hours, seven days, or 90 days.

You can set this for all chats or specific ones. To use this for new one-on-one chats, go to Settings > Privacy > Default message timer and pick a time. Remember, anyone can screenshot messages, so deleted messages aren’t always gone.

Two-Factor Authentication Including a Security PIN

WhatsApp requires your phone number, which can be risky. A security PIN can help protect your account. This acts as two-factor authentication to keep your chats safe.

To set it up, open WhatsApp and go to Settings. Tap Account > Two-step verification > Turn on or Set up PIN. Choose a PIN you can remember and confirm it.