3 Important Security Settings For 48 Crore Whatsapp Users In India: Keep Your Data, Identity Safe!

By Shreya Bose Last updated Jan 5, 2022

WhatsApp has become a necessity in nearly all our lives.

Given the amount of data we share with others through the app, it is important to make sure they, and our identities are secure.

Here’s some settings you can enable to ensure privacy and security.

WhatsApp Lock

This feature is important to prevent unauthorized people from accessing your chats.

Go on over to the app’s settings.

Click “Account” and then “Privacy”.

You can enable “Screen Lock” with either Touch ID or Face ID.

You can also select a duration time for when the ID is required again.

Now that these settings are enabled, whenever you open the app, you’ll have to either provide your fingerprint or a scan of your face to unlock it.

Do note that you can still read and reply to messages through your notification window.

However in iPhones, message previews can be disabled.

This is a new feature which allows users to set their new texts to automatically self-destruct after a day (or any set time duration).

It enhances privacy by deleting old WhatsApp messages.

The Disappearing Messages feature can be set to automatically switch on for all new chats – without affecting existing conversations.

Two new durations have been added after which new texts are to self-delete: 24 hours and 90 days.

Now there are four options in total: 24 hours, 7 days, 90 days or Off.

Go to Settings > Account > Privacy and then turn on Default Message Timer.

Since the feature is relatively new, make sure the app is updated to the latest version to be able to use it.

The feature isn’t foolproof since the recipient of the texts you send can take a screenshot or copy your texts.

The best way to avoid such a scenario is to probably avoid posting anything unless it is to someone you can fully trust.

This is an extra step for verifying your phone number to prevent criminals from gaining access.

Go to Settings > Account and toggle the two-step verification setting to On.