WhatsApp Privacy Guide – Protect your privacy with these settings

No matter on which platform, who moves online, must know how to protect his privacy. WhatsApp is no different. The basic settings of the app do not offer enough protection for everyone. Find out here which privacy settings you need to adjust on WhatsApp. If you’re looking for general information and tips on WhatsApp, you’ll find everything you need to know in our ultimate WhatsApp guide. 

Settings for more privacy on WhatsApp

1. Make profile picture invisible for strangers

Anyone who has your number saved on their phone can see your profile picture. This also applies, for example, to your handyman who had to call you once. But you might not want to share your profile with everyone right away. Go to Settings, Account and then Privacy. Here you can select under ‘Profile picture’ for whom it is visible. Choose between ‘Everyone’, ‘My contacts’ or ‘Nobody’.

2. Hide last online

Not everyone needs to know when you were last online on WhatsApp. In the settings, you can quickly hide this information from others. But: If you turn it off for yourself, the ‘last online’ display of the others will also be hidden from you. 

Go to ‘Settings’, ‘Account’ and then ‘Privacy’. Under ‘Last online’ you can now choose between ‘Everyone’, ‘My contacts’ or ‘Nobody’ who can see when you were last online. 

3. Deactivate read receipt

Just because you read the message, you don’t have to reply to it right away. However, this is often expected. To hide the fact that you were online and read the message, you can simply disable the read receipt – the two blue check marks. 

Go to ‘Settings’, ‘Account’ and then ‘Privacy’. Under ‘Read receipt’ you can turn it on or off. 

4. Hide status

What you post in your WhatsApp status, all your contacts can see. But if you don’t want, for example, your boss to see your vacation photos, you can change this in the settings. 

Go to ‘Settings’, ‘Account’ and then ‘Privacy’. Under ‘Status’ you can now choose from four options: ‘Everyone’, ‘My contacts’, ‘No one’ or ‘Only share with…’ With the last option, you can choose with which contacts you want to share the photos and videos exactly. 

5. Deny access to your data

WhatsApp has access to much more of your information than you think. But with the right settings, you don’t have to allow the app all access. 

Open the settings on your smartphone. Go to Apps and select WhatsApp. Here you can choose what the app has access to. For example, you can deny access to your location, memory, and camera. However, this will prevent you from sending photos and locations.

6. Enable two-step verification

Two-step verification protects your account from being accessed by strangers. If you enable this feature, WhatsApp will not only ask for an SMS code when verifying your identity, but also a six-digit PIN. Here’s how you can set the PIN:

Open the settings and click on ‘Account’. Here you can select and activate ‘Verification in two steps’. Then enter your six-digit PIN and confirm it. You can optionally add your email address here, which will help if you ever forget your PIN.

7. Set up fingerprint lock

After activating the fingerprint lock, you can open WhatsApp on your smartphone only by your fingerprint. This way, you can protect your private messages from unauthorized access. 

Under Settings you will find Privacy, where you then scroll down to the very bottom. There you will find the fingerprint lock, which you can then activate. You can also select after how many minutes WhatsApp should be locked and can be reopened with the fingerprint. 

More data protection with WhatsApp

These settings should definitely help you to increase data protection on WhatsApp. Want to learn more about data security for your smartphone? Then read our guide to more data protection for your cell phone and for the worst-case scenario we have put together a guide on the subject of ‘mobile phone hacking’.

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