WhatsApp to introduce stricter security settings for vulnerable users

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has added Strict Account Settings on WhatsApp to better protect your account from cyberattacks.

According to Meta, Strict Account Settings is an advanced security feature that activates privacy and security controls to help protect accounts from “highly sophisticated cyberattacks.”

When enabled, it reduces a user’s vulnerability to cyberattacks by limiting functionality. Their account will be set to more private settings, and their chats with others outside their contacts will be limited.

This will affect the WhatsApp experience in several ways. For starters, it improves account security by activating two-step verification. Also, security notifications are switched on and locked, and end-to-end encrypted backups are encouraged for users with backups enabled.

In addition, link previews are turned off, and high volumes of unknown account messages are automatically blocked. Attachments from unknown senders and calls from people you don’t know are automatically blocked.

Furthermore, profile and presence information are locked to contacts only. This includes your profile photo, last seen and online status, About information, and links on your profile.

Lastly, only stored contacts can add you to groups.

“We believe you should be able to have private conversations on your devices, just like you would in person. We’re always building more layers of security, and for the few people who may be targets of sophisticated and rare cyberattacks, like journalists or public figures, we’re adding a new extreme protection feature called Strict Account Settings,” Meta said in a blog post.

To enable Strict Account Settings, tap on the three dots in the upper-right corner and select Settings > Privacy > Advanced, and activate Strict Account Settings by switching the slider to on.

Strict Account Settings will be rolled out in the coming weeks.

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