WhatsApp Security: How to Protect Your Account from Scammers
WhatsApp connects over three billion people globally. This massive user base makes the platform incredibly convenient for communication. However, its popularity also attracts scammers, data harvesters, and account hijackers who target unsuspecting users.
Recent studies highlight several vulnerabilities. These include browser-based account hijacking and large-scale phone number scraping through contact discovery services. While WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to secure messages in transit, this alone does not guarantee complete protection.
Access to your device, social engineering attacks, and weak account settings can still expose your information. The good news is that WhatsApp provides several built-in features to enhance your personal safety. By adjusting these settings, you can significantly reduce your risk of exposure.
Use Privacy Checkup to Control Your Visibility
The fastest way to review your privacy settings is through WhatsApp's Privacy Checkup tool. You can find this under Settings, then Privacy. Here, you decide who sees your profile picture, bio, status updates, and last seen timestamp.
You can further minimize unwanted attention by controlling who can contact you directly and who can add you to groups. Setting your status and last seen to "Nobody" adds a layer of discretion, especially when dealing with unknown contacts.
Enable Disappearing Messages to Limit Long-Term Exposure
End-to-end encryption protects messages during transfer, but stored messages remain vulnerable if your device is compromised. The disappearing messages feature addresses this by automatically deleting messages after a set period.
You can choose durations of 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days. Set it for specific chats or as a default for all new messages via Settings, Privacy, and Default Message Timer. Remember that recipients can still take screenshots, so trust remains important.
Protect Your Account with Two-Step Verification
Your phone number is central to your WhatsApp account, making it a prime target. Two-step verification adds a PIN requirement when linking your number to a new device.
Activate this feature by going to Settings > Account > Two-step verification. Create a PIN and optionally add an email for account recovery. WhatsApp also supports passkeys for enhanced security.
Lock the App and Individual Chats
Even with encrypted content, message previews may be visible if someone accesses your device. App Lock secures the WhatsApp app itself using Face ID, Touch ID, or a fingerprint.
For greater protection, use the Chat Lock feature. This lets you move specific chats to a locked folder protected by biometric authentication. You can also quickly delete messages from this folder in emergencies.
Turn On Advanced Security Settings
WhatsApp includes several advanced privacy features that many users overlook. Find these under Privacy and then Advanced.
- Block unknown messages to prevent spam floods
- Protect your IP address during calls by routing them through WhatsApp's servers
- Disable link previews to reduce data exposure
While some settings may slightly affect call quality or convenience, they significantly limit information sharing during communication.
Use Enhanced Chat Privacy to Prevent Content Misuse
Enhanced Chat Privacy stops chats from being exported outside WhatsApp. It prevents auto-downloading media, limits chat exporting, and blocks messages from being used for AI training.
You must enable this manually for each conversation. In groups, admins control whether members can change this setting. Note that users with older WhatsApp versions might not fully adhere to these restrictions.
Disable Read Receipts for More Control
Read receipts, shown as blue ticks, reveal when you've read a message. If you prefer more discretion, turn them off under Settings and Privacy.
Once disabled, you won't see read receipts from others either. This setting doesn't apply to group chats. This simple change can reduce pressure and unwanted expectations about response times.
Stop Automatic Media Downloads
By default, WhatsApp saves photos and videos directly to your device. This can clutter storage and expose sensitive media if others access your phone.
Disable this by going to Settings, Chats, and turning off Save to Photos. WhatsApp also allows sending media and voice notes for one-time viewing only, which automatically removes content after opening.
By combining encryption with strong account protection, restricted visibility, and advanced privacy controls, you can transform WhatsApp from a basic messaging app into a far more secure communication tool. In today's digital environment where data exposure is common, these adjustments make a meaningful difference.
