Table of contents:
- Do not make your profile private
- Letting be added to groups
- Do not protect your WhatsApp account
- Do not lock chats with your fingerprint
- Leave your WhatsApp Web sessions open
Few users really care about the privacy and security of their WhatsApp accounts. The usual thing is to install the application, configure the account with the phone number and start chatting. And yes, WhatsApp is as simple as that. But there are certain dangers that you can avoid if you don't make rookie mistakes and spend a couple of minutes configuring your WhatsApp account as you should. Here we tell you the mistakes that are usually made and how to correct them.
Do not make your profile private
As we say, the usual thing is to start working with WhatsApp configured as standard. This will make anyone have access to our profile. Of course, as long as you have our phone number. That way, you'll be able to see our profile picture, your chosen status phrase, and other details that we may not want to make public to just anyone. We must not forget that there are those who, after being blocked, can access all this data just by saving our number on another mobile. But it can be avoided.
Open WhatsApp and click on the three dots in the upper right corner to find the Settings section. Here you will find a new screen full of sections, among which you must choose Account to finally reach the section Privacy.
Within this section you can choose which people and contacts have access to your profile information.From the last time you connected, to the profile photo, the information you add or the status. The most restrictive option is always Nobody, with which absolutely no one will be able to see this data from your profile. But if you want to trust yourself a little more you can choose My contacts. Thus, only WhatsApp users whose phone numbers are saved in your calendar will be able to see this information. No more spies will.
Letting be added to groups
Another WhatsApp privacy problem comes from groups Maybe you don't mind if anyone adds you to a group, even if it is a somewhat abusive, tiring and very burdensome practice. The problem is that there are tricks so that a person you have blocked on WhatsApp can talk to you again through a group.Or that someone puts you in a group with strangers that can be done from there with your phone number. Isn't this the same for you anymore? Well, you can protect yourself this way.
There are several ways to protect yourself in this situation. To do this, go to WhatsApp Settings, in the Account section and in Privacy. Here, at the bottom, you will see the Groups section. Click on it to select who can add you to a group. By default, WhatsApp chooses the Everyone option, but you can prevent a stranger whose number you don't have from adding you if you choose the My contacts option. But if you want to prevent anyone, contact or not, from adding you to a group, you can choose the third option: My contacts, except… and here choose absolutely the entire list of contactsWith this you will make WhatsApp block any user's attempts to add you to a group. And it is that it will request prior permission before entering one, so that you can know if it is worth it or if it is a trap.
Do not protect your WhatsApp account
In recent years there has been a security barrier that is being implemented in most websites and services such as social networks and other Internet domains. It's called double authentication (or two-step verification), and it consists of creating a second barrier when logging in or signing with your credentials. In this way, although a person may have our password, he will not be able to access our account. You will need double authentication or verification, with a password that only you know.
To activate it in WhatsApp, go to Settings and go to Account. Here will be the Two-Step Verification section. WhatsApp will allow you to activate it and will take you by the hand through the process, having to enter a 6-digit code and the email in case you forget this information.Thus, the next time you try to install WhatsApp on another mobile you will have to include this code so that no one else can do this process for you.
Do not lock chats with your fingerprint
It is a relatively recent measure, and although it is not the greatest security, it can help you protect chats. And it is that it is very difficult to reproduce the fingerprint of a user, so it does not hurt that you take advantage of it in your favor. In this way, no one else but you will be able to enter your WhatsApp application. Of course, is not an exhaustive measure, and you should be aware of this. But it will always protect you more than if you don't activate it.
Go through the WhatsApp Settings and enter Privacy. At the end of the entire list of functions you will find Fingerprint lock. You only have to click to access and activate the function. Of course, you will also have to use your fingerprint once to confirm that you are the person who is activating it.And beware, WhatsApp allows you to choose three blocking options. One of them, the safest, is the one that says Immediately, so that every time you exit WhatsApp your application will be locked under your fingerprint But this can be tiring if you use it regularly, so you can choose the 1 minute option or risk 30 minutes. Keep in mind that between these periods your application will not be protected and will not ask for the user's fingerprint, so other people will be able to access it.
Leave your WhatsApp Web sessions open
You must be careful if you use WhatsApp Web on computers It is a weak point in the system that allows other people to usurp and read you your messages. Even without realizing it. It is especially dangerous if you do it on computers that are public or to which other people have access. If you don't close your account, they will be able to see your chats, answer as if they were you, etc.
WhatsApp notifies your mobile if there is a WhatsApp Web session open on a computer.But you may think that it was on your desktop computer and not on the one you just used at work, for example. To ensure that only you access your chats, you must close all sessions
You only need to display the WhatsApp menu by clicking on the three dots, and access the WhatsApp Web section. Here you will see if there is any open session. And best of all: you can close all of them by clicking on the option Close all sessions With which you will know that only you, from your mobile, will have access to your WhatsApp chats .
