Table of contents:
- Turn on two-step verification
- Do not share your SMS verification code
- Set a PIN lock for your mobile
Have you ever stopped to think what would happen if an unknown could access your WhatsApp chats? And what's worse, if he could interact usurping your person. Ask your partner for bank information, find out where you are thanks to a simple conversation with a friend, review all the photos, videos and audios shared... In the messaging application we collect a large part of our day to day, so it is convenient to make sure that that everything is protected in case we lose our mobile or some cybercriminal tries to take over our account.
To this end, WhatsApp itself has published a new FAQ article with common questions where it tries to answer this problem of account theft. How can you make sure that no one has access to your conversations? Well, being constant and making sure comply with these three points that are marked in said document:
Turn on two-step verification
This is a widely used security feature in Internet services, applications, and other tools. In WhatsApp it has been active since 2016, and it represents a second security barrier that protects our accounts from third-party access. As? Very simple, by applying a login password that only you know
Go through the WhatsApp settings, access the Account section and, here, enter the Two-step verificationOn this screen you will have to activate the function and offer a 6-digit PIN code to further protect this system. It is very important that you do not forget this PIN.
In this way, each time WhatsApp is logged in with your phone number (when it is installed on a mobile and your phone is entered to try to read your messages), it will be necessary to enter saidPIN code that only you know This will protect your conversations without anyone else having access to them.
Do not share your SMS verification code
Despite being a good security barrier to confirm the identity of each user, verification codes lose all their reliability if they are shared. We are referring to the six-digit code that arrives by SMS message when you log in to WhatsApp on a new terminal. You have to understand this code as if it were the key to a safeAnyone with the code can access it.
Yes, these codes are single use only and have a limited lifetime. But, if we share it, we will be opening the doors for another person to have full and free access to all the content. Especially if we don't have the two-step verification system.
So, like any password and security measure, it's best that you, and only you, know and take advantage of this verification code. WhatsApp usually automatically recognizes the code when the SMS arrives, without you having to enter it manually. That is why it would be recommended that you delete the SMS message once you have fully configured your WhatsApp account
Set a PIN lock for your mobile
Once your WhatsApp account is secured and also the start process, all that remains is to secure your phone so that no one can access the messaging application. To do this, from WhatsApp, they recommend protect the terminal with a PIN code That is, four figures that only you know and that you do not share with anyone, so that only You can enter your mobile and then WhatsApp.
Currently, medium and high-end mobile phones (and some low-end ones) have already implemented other biometric security measures for the terminals . We are talking about the fingerprint reader or face recognition. Use the one that is most comfortable for you, but never share the possibility of using them with other people than yourself.
