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This week we will be exploring some WhatsApp Security features that are very valuable and would most definitely protect us from rogues who may want to hijack our WhatsApp account… This is happening more often than you and I are aware of.
We are now using WhatsApp more and more as a favourite instant messaging app… Since Facebook bought WhatsApp… The security features are improving. The Clinic has found a few optional settings that will keep us more secure Before we share these optional features I would ask those who are visiting the channel for the first time to subscribe and click the bell for new weekly video alerts. Please share the information with your friends and family. OK
1. Two-step verification
Two-step verification is an optional feature that adds more security to your account. When you have two-step verification enabled, any attempt to verify your phone number on WhatsApp must be accompanied by the six-digit PIN that you created using this feature.
To enable two-step verification, open WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Two-step verification > Enable.
Upon enabling this feature, you can also optionally enter your email address. This email address will allow WhatsApp to send you a link via email to disable two-step verification in case you ever forget your six-digit PIN, and also to help safeguard your account. We do not verify this email address to confirm its accuracy. We highly recommend you provide an accurate email address so that you're not locked out of your account if you forget your PIN. Important: If you receive an email to disable two-step verification, but didn't request this, don't click on the link. Someone could be attempting to verify your phone number on WhatsApp.
If you have two-step verification enabled, your number will not be permitted to reverify on WhatsApp within 7 days of last using WhatsApp without your PIN. Thus, if you forget your own PIN, but didn't provide an email to disable two-step verification, even you will not be permitted to reverify on WhatsApp within 7 days of last using WhatsApp. After these 7 days, your number will be permitted to reverify on WhatsApp without your PIN, but you'll lose all pending messages upon reverifying - they will be deleted. If your number is reverified on WhatsApp after 30 days of last using WhatsApp, and without your PIN, your account will be deleted and a new one will be created upon successfully reverifying.
2. Protect Your Privacy on WhatsApp WhatsApp isn’t the most private messenger out there, but it gives users at least some control.
Go to Settings > Account > Privacy to see everything at your disposal. You can control who can see your Last Seen, profile photo, about, status, and live location. You can also turn off Read Receipts here, so the blue check marks are switched off. There’s no recommendation here, you can choose what works best for you. To learn more, here’s everything you need to know about WhatsApp privacy settings and how to keep your photos safe on WhatsApp.
3. Disable Cloud Backups (If You Care About Privacy) The end-to-end encryption is awesome, but there’s one loophole: WhatsApp backs up chats to Google Drive or iCloud. That way, if you reinstall it later, you can retrieve your old messages. But this backup isn’t encrypted. So if you really care about your privacy, then that’s something you need to disable. To disable automatic cloud backups:
On iPhone: Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Auto Backup > Off
On Android: Go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Backup to Google Drive > Never.
The Clinic believes that the benefits of backing up your WhatsApp chats to the cloud outweigh the lack of encryption…
So the Clinic recommends that you backup your data to the cloud where we believe Google have compensating controls in place that will mitigate the risk that accompany no encryption.
However, You should be diligent when sharing information on social media platforms.