Continuing the privacy series for social media, the following guide will highlight key privacy and security features you can use to make your WhatsApp account a bit more secure.
With over 2 billion international users and more than 100 billion messages sent via the social messaging application, the platform has acquired over a billion new users within just the last four years.
By default, privacy settings in WhatsApp are set to:
However, the privacy features can be easily changed via the in-app settings on both mobile and desktop versions of WhatsApp.
When a message is sent or received through WhatsApp, tick marks appear next to the message implying different meanings:
In the case of group chats, the double tick only appears when all the participants in the group have successfully read the message.
For individual messages in a group chat, the details of a message can be checked to see if it has been delivered, read, and by whom. To check the status of a single message:
Note: Read receipts cannot be turned off for messages sent in group chats or voice messages.
To turn off read receipts, follow these steps:
By default, WhatsApp allows users to view another person’s last seen, profile photo, about information, read receipts, status updates, etc.
To change the privacy settings for anyone of these features:
The Live Location feature on WhatsApp allows users to share their real-time location with other users or groups for a set amount of time. The feature is end-to-end encrypted allowing only users you have shared your location with to view your location.
To share your live location with a contact:
To manually stop sharing Live Location, open the individual or group chat and tap on Stop Sharing.
The Last Seen feature allows users to view the last time another user has viewed their messages on WhatsApp. The feature allows users to select from three different options: hide it from everyone, your contacts, or no one.
To change your Last Seen privacy settings, you can follow these steps:
On Android: Tap the Three-dot Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen
On iPhone: Tap Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen
On Desktop: Tap the Three-dot Menu > Settings > Privacy > Last Seen
An optional feature for WhatsApp for an extra layer of security is two-step verification. Enabling the feature will require you to first authenticate your account using a custom-set PIN, whenever you would like to register your phone number for a WhatsApp account.
If you don’t wish to add an email address and forget your PIN, it will take you 7 days before you can reset your PIN.
In case you want to disable Two-Step verification on your account:
If you decide to add your email address:
If you wish to change your email address:
WhatsApp now allows users to send photos and videos that disappear once they have been opened. The latest version of instant messenger lets users send photos or videos that cannot be viewed again, forwarded, saved, shared, or starred.
View Once messages expire after 14 days of being sent, if not opened by the recipient.
For View Once messages, you can only view if the receiver has opened the photo or video if they have read receipts turned on. For such messages, it is still possible for another person to take screenshots or screen record the material OR take a photo or record from another device.
Recipients can report View Once media, in which case the media is provided to WhatsApp for further investigation.
To send a photo or video that can only be viewed once:
Another additional security feature available for WhatsApp is to enable Touch ID or Face ID for unlocking the application.
The Screen Lock or Fingerprint lock adds an extra layer of security to the app, while still allowing you to reply to messages from the notification center or receive and answer calls while WhatsApp is locked.
To enable Touch ID or Face ID on WhatsApp, permissions need to be granted by:
On select smartphones, Touch ID works the same as Fingerprint Locks. When enabled, you will have to use your fingerprint for access to the app.
To enable Fingerprint Lock:
With the unlimited connections people form every day it is easy to get lost in the sea of messages. However, with the advancements of technology, some people tend to misuse certain privileges and harass or annoy other people.
In case you want to stop a certain someone from contacting you on WhatsApp via calls or messages, you can simply block the person and even report them for problematic or spam content.
To block a contact on WhatsApp, simply follow these steps:
Alternatively, you can open the chat with a contact, tap on their name, and select the Block Contact option. Users can choose to both simply block the contact or report and block the contact as well.
Users can also block n unknown phone number, by simply opening the chat and tapping on Block.
Once blocked, a contact can neither call you nor text you. The contact will not be able to view your information, About details, profile picture, last seen, online status, etc.
WhatsApp allows users to add anyone to add other people to groups. The messaging platform sets the privacy settings of groups to Everyone by default. Additionally, WhatsApp allows users to change these settings.
If you start receiving, spam messages or calls from unknown numbers you can block and report them to WhatsApp.
Alternatively, open a chat with the contact and tap on the name, tap on Report.
You can also report a view once photo or video, by opening the media, tapping on More Options, and clicking on Report Contact.