In the age of digital communication, WhatsApp has become an important part of our daily life. As rapidly as its popularity has increased, cases of cyber crimes and online fraud have also come to light. According to experts, many times users unknowingly turn off some important security settings, due to which their account can become a target of hackers. In such a situation, there are some basic settings of WhatsApp, which should never be turned off, because these are considered the first wall of security of the account.
1. Two-Step Verification
This feature is considered to be the most effective way to keep the WhatsApp account secure. Enabling two-step verification requires the user to set a secure 6-digit PIN, which is periodically asked for by the app. Even if a hacker somehow gains access to your SIM card or OTP, your account cannot be activated without this additional PIN.
Cyber experts clearly say that keeping this feature turned off can put your account at serious risk. It has been observed in many online fraud cases that users who did not activate two-step verification became easy targets.
2. Security Notifications
Security Notifications is a feature that monitors the end-to-end encryption security of your chats. Whenever a contact’s security code changes—like getting a new phone or reinstalling the app—WhatsApp sends you an instant alert.
If this feature is off, the user will not know when and how the security code of the other person changed. Many times cyber attackers take advantage of this confusion and try to intercept conversations. Therefore, keeping security notifications on ensures both transparency and security in chatting.
3. Privacy settings of Last Seen, Profile Photo and About
Often users choose the “Everyone” option for convenience or privacy, which makes their profile photo, last seen and about information visible to everyone. Experts say that this information can prove to be a gold mine for hackers. Misusing profile photos, tracking user activity based on last seen, or gathering personal details from bio information—these are commonly used methods by cyber criminals.
Therefore, these settings should always be set to “My Contacts” or “Nobody”. However, it is better not to turn them off completely, because this may make it difficult for your contacts to check your real identity.
Security expert advice
Tech experts say that no single method of security on digital platforms is sufficient. Therefore, keeping these three settings of WhatsApp on works as a basic security shield. Apart from this, it is also necessary to update the app regularly, not open suspicious links and ignore messages from unknown numbers.
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