with these 4 tips you can keep texting safely

You probably share joys and sorrows with friends, your partner, colleagues and acquaintances via WhatsApp. You can take a few precautions to prevent personal information from falling into the wrong hands. Here are four tips to secure WhatsApp.

Secure WhatsApp with 4 tips

An important note in advance: every system can be cracked, including your WhatsApp profile. However, you can make it difficult for malicious parties by taking some precautions. Hopefully hackers will skip your profile because of this, because there are easier ‘preys’.

1. Set up two-step verification

Two-step verification sounds complicated, but it’s actually quite simple. Once you enable this, you will need to enter an access code when registering your phone number. This is separate from WhatsApp, making it more difficult for a hacker to access your data. So you add a second step to the verification process.

This is how you set up WhatsApp two-step verification:

1. Open WhatsApp on your iPhone and go to ‘Settings’;
2. Choose ‘Account’ and tap on ‘Two-step verification’;
3. Slide the switch so that the box turns green.

2. Use Face ID (or Touch ID)

You probably unlock your iPhone dozens of times a day with a scan of your finger or face. You can also use these security measures to shield the content of specific apps, including WhatsApp.

Here’s how to secure the chat app with Face ID or Touch ID:

1. Open WhatsApp and go to ‘Settings’;
2. Tap on ‘Privacy’ and choose ‘Screen lock’;
3. Slide the switch at the top option.

Are you struggling or do you want to know more? Then read our in-depth article with detailed instructions about Face ID / Touch ID for WhatsApp.

3. Secure your voicemail

WhatsApp fraud is a growing problem. One of the latest techniques that hackers use to hijack your profile has to do with voicemail. While signing up with WhatsApp you can choose to receive the sign-up code by message, but if this fails, you will be called.

If you do not answer, the code will end up in your voicemail box. If it is poorly secured – for example with a password like “0000” – it is a piece of cake for hackers to steal the WhatsApp access code. They then use this during sign up to hijack your profile.

So set a strong password for your voicemail. How you do this differs per provider. In any case, always start by calling number 1233. Then follow the directions below:

• KPN: Press 2 to access the settings and select option 1 to change the access code. Enter a new password.
• Tele2: Select option 4 from the menu and replace the code.
• T-Mobile: Press 9 to go to the settings and press 2 again, followed by 2. Now enter a new password.
• Vodafone: Select option 11 in the main menu and press 2, followed by 3. Now enter a new pin code.

4. Protect messages in WhatsApp

We have now made the registration process for WhatsApp as safe as possible. Now it is time to lock the actual content – your chats. For this you use end-to-end encryption. This sounds tricky, but it means that only you and the person you are chatting with can read the content of your messages.

Follow the instructions below to check whether your messages are properly secured:

1. Grab your iPhone and open a WhatsApp conversation;
2. Tap the contact’s name to open the information screen;
3. Tap on ‘Encryption’ to see the QR code and 60 digit code;
4. If your contact is nearby and scans this barcode, you will see a green check mark. You now know for sure that the content of your chats is private.

More tips for WhatsApp

The basis of WhatsApp is not that difficult: sending a message can be done by almost anyone. But did you know that the chat app is packed with well-hidden functions that are useful? In our overview with lesser-known WhatsApp functions, we list these useful tips for you. In the video below, we highlight the essential tricks for you.