WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 3 billion users. But its ubiquity also makes it a target for attackers. In December, security researchers documented a new form of account hijacking called GhostPairing, which sees users tricked into linking an attacker’s browser to their WhatsApp device.
Meanwhile, in November, Austrian researchers plugged billions of numbers into WhatsApp’s contact discovery tool to create “the most extensive exposure of phone numbers” ever—along with profile photos and more.
WhatsApp is protected by end-to-end encryption, the gold standard of security that, when implemented properly, means only you and the person you’re chatting with can read your messages. Behind the scenes, WhatsApp has also launched passkey-encrypted backups and privacy-enhanced AI technology.
But there are a bunch of features you can use to boost your own privacy and security in the Meta-owned app. Here are eight of the best.
Privacy Checkup
A good place to start is WhatsApp’s Privacy Checkup feature in Settings under Privacy, which allows you to control who sees data such as your profile photo, About information, and status. You can also add extra privacy to your profile by adjusting the last Seen/Online setting to Nobody.
From there, you can choose who is able to contact you on WhatsApp by blocking unwanted calls and messages. It’s also possible to specify who can add you to groups, silence unknown callers, and manage your blocked contacts.
Disappearing Messages
While WhatsApp is protected by end-to-end encryption, your messages can be read if you are compromised by spyware or if someone gains physical access to your device.
One way of helping to secure chats against this is disappearing messages, which allows you to set a period of time for texts to stay visible before they are deleted. Messages can be set to disappear after 24 hours, seven days, or 90 days after they’re sent.
Disappearing messages can be set for all chats or for specific conversations. To enable the feature as default for new one-to-one chats, go to Settings > Privacy > Default message timer and set the time frame for messages to disappear.
Just keep in mind that the feature requires trust—anyone can screenshot a message, so you can’t guarantee that what you’ve sent will be deleted everywhere all the time.
Two-Factor Authentication Including a Security PIN
WhatsApp needs your phone number when you set up an account, but this can also leave it open to various security and privacy risks. A feature that will protect your WhatsApp account from such threats such is a security PIN.
The PIN works as two-factor authentication to protect your chats from prying eyes. Open WhatsApp Settings. Tap Account > Two-step verification > Turn on or Set up PIN. Enter a PIN of your choice and confirm it.