Meta’s messaging service wants to ensure that user communications remain private. For this, the application will be equipped with three new features.
WhatsApp wants to become the safest messenger on the market. Meta’s service already offers end-to-end encryption of conversations by default, but it unveiled new features to offer “more privacy and more control over your messages”
“At WhatsApp, we believe your messaging should be just as private and safe as your in-person conversations,” the company says in the preamble to his blog post.
Enhanced security
To further protect users’ accounts, WhatsApp will soon ask for change confirmation when transferring WhatsApp account to another device. This feature can alert you if someone tries to use your account.
A window will appear saying “Do you allow transfer of your WhatsApp account to another phone?” with the attempt time as well as the destination device. Once the transfer request is validated, the WhatsApp account will no longer be available on the old device.
The messaging service will also add device checks to prevent hacks via malware that takes control of the phone. The technology applied should block the hacker’s connection, while allowing the user to use the application without interruption.
No conversations with imposters
And if you want to make sure the person you’re corresponding with isn’t an impostor, WhatsApp is rolling out “Key Transparency,” a technology that instantly verifies that a conversation is secure. This device is already offered but in a more laborious version: in the contact information, you can verify that the conversation is safe by clicking on “Encryption” and then asking your contact to confirm the security code via a QR Code.
These three new features will be available in the coming months on users’ phones. WhatsApp also reminds that to effectively protect your WhatsApp account, it is necessary to activate two-step verification as well as end-to-end encrypted conversation backups.
