WhatsApp can be made more secure in a few simple steps. We’ll show you which settings to change right away in Messenger.
How secure is my data on The WhatsApp? Several users are currently asking themselves these questions. It was fueled by debate New Terms of UseWhich Messenger wanted to introduce in February.
After the protests, the submission was postponed to May, but many users have already turned their backs on WhatsApp. Competitor download numbers Signal Reached from a million to over 50 million on Google Play in a few days.
But you don’t even have to go for one WhatsApp-alternative Change, with a few simple steps, you can greatly increase your data protection on WhatsApp. You must make the following settings:
Unlike most online services, WhatsApp does not use the classic login principle with a username and password. Instead, your WhatsApp account is permanently linked to your phone number and is permanently unlocked with an SMS code
Anyone who gets their hands on your unlocked smartphone will also be able to access all your WhatsApp chats. Additional authentication is possible at least on devices with a fingerprint scanner.
Activate self-wipe messages
WhatsApp recently started offering Expired messages A kind of self-destructing mode for messages. If you activate this, all messages that you sent after 7 days will be deleted. There are ways to get around the situation, but this increases the security of the messaging program.
Do without cloud backup
If you store your WhatsApp conversations in Google Drive or iCloud, you should be aware that, unlike Messenger itself, it is not subject to end-to-end encryption. If you want to be on the safe side, you should click instead Cloud backups to a local backup for WhatsApp put.
Send two-factor authentication
Do you want more security for your WhatsApp account? With what we have described in a separate guide You can use two-factor authentication for your WhatsApp account Protect from unauthorized access by logging in in case you lose your SIM card or smartphone.
Enable security notifications
With th WhatsApp security notifications You can be sure the contact is who they say. However, the feature has been deactivated by previous work. In the linked instructions we explain how to activate it.
Use a VPN
We generally recommend using a VPN on your mobile phone – for several reasons. For example, you can use it to hide your IP from WhatsApp. Recommended Free VPN services We present to you in the linked article.
In another text, we’ll tell you how to live with it WhatsApp protects from secret readers.