Meta-owned WhatsApp has announced additional security features to the app that will be functional in a few months.
According to the WhatsApp blog, these features are:
Account Protect: If you need to switch your WhatsApp account to a new device, the app will double-check that it’s you. From now on, the app users may be asked on their old device to verify that they want to take this step as an extra security check. This feature can help alert the user about an unauthorized attempt to move their account to another device.
Device Verification: Mobile device malware is one of the biggest threats to people’s privacy and security today because it can take advantage of your phone without your permission and use your WhatsApp to send unwanted messages. To help prevent this, the app has added checks to help authenticate your account – with no action needed from the user and better protect them if their evidence is compromised. This lets one continue using WhatsApp uninterrupted.
Automatic Security Codes: WhatsApp most security-conscious users have always been able to take advantage of the security code verification feature, which helps ensure one is chatting with the intended recipient. The user can check this manually by going to the Encryption tab under a contact’s info.
To make this process easier and more accessible to everyone, WhatsApp is rolling out a security feature based on a process called “Key Transparency” that allows one to automatically verify that you have a secure connection.
What it means for you is that when you click on the encryption tab, they’ll be able to verify right away that their conversation is secured.
WhatsApp upholds the belief that the privacy and security of your messages should be equivalent to those of an in-person conversation.
To provide this level of security, the firm has implemented end-to-end encryption as a default measure.
“Furthermore, we continuously strive to enhance our features to offer additional layers of privacy and greater control over your messages. Most of these improvements occur in the background, without requiring any action on your part,” noted WhatsApp.