Understanding that messages should be as private and secure as an in-person conversation, Whatsapp first implemented protecting personal messages with end-to-end encryption by default, and they continue to create new features to give additional layers of privacy and more control over messages. A lot of this work happens behind the scenes and because of that, they count some of the additional security features coming in the coming months.
– Account Protection: if you need to change your WhatsApp account to a new device, from now on they will ask you to confirm that you want to perform this action on your old device as an additional security control to verify that you really requested it. This feature can alert you to an unauthorized attempt to move your account to another device.
– device verification: Mobile malware is one of the biggest threats to people’s privacy and security today, as it can take control of your phone without your permission and use your WhatsApp to send spam messages. To help prevent this, verifications have been added to help authenticate your account (without you having to do anything) and better protect you if your device is compromised. In this way, you can continue using WhatsApp without interruptions.
– Automatic security codes: The most security-conscious users have always taken advantage of the check function with security code that helps ensure that you chat with the correct recipients. You can check this manually in the encryption tab under the contact information. To make this process easier and more accessible to everyone, we have implemented a process-based security feature called “Key Transparency” that allows you to verify that you have a secure connection automatically. This means that when you click on the encryption tab, you can immediately verify that your personal conversation is secure.
Here are three additional ways to help you protect your account. While there are many things that can be done to make security easier for everyone, there are two features that only you can turn on: two-step verification and end-to-end encrypted backups. If you already use both features, tell your friends about them so more people can benefit from these layers of security.
