If you are a frequent user of WhatsApp then you should effect these changes right now, in order to keep you safe online.

Group:

Those of you that belongs to several groups, it is important to turn off group notification by doing the below;

In WhatsApp go to Settings > Notifications > Group Notifications and turn off “Show Notifications”.

If you want to keep the notifications on, but not have a message alert tone for group messages, you can select to turn group notifications sounds off.

Adding You to several Groups: This feature was launched  last year, and I believe it’s visible on your WhatsApp messenger settings.

To define who can add you to a group go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups. You can then select “Nobody”, “My Contacts”, or “Everyone”.

Screen Lock:

This feature provide additional layer of security and at the moment, its available only for iOS users. lets users lock their account with an authentication screen.

iPhone users can set a Touch ID or Face ID lock for the app by navigating to Settings > Account > Privacy > Screen Lock.

2FA:

(2FA) allows users to set a code for their WhatsApp account which will protect it from being hijacked. A lot of people have complaint recently that their WhatsApp account was being hacked, and it appears to be so common during this pandemic lockdown ravaging the world.

if your WhatsApp account is hacked, it is simply because you refuse to activate 2 step authentication on your account.

How to Activate 2FA on WhatsApp

To set up 2FA go to Settings > Account > Two-Step Verification and select enable. You will then be prompted to create a six-digit PIN.

Last Seen and Read Scripts:

This is an old whatsApp feature and I’m sure some of you have forgotten about it.

Go to Settings > Account > Privacy you will be presented with important options.

Last Seen – Select who is able to see when you were last on WhatsApp, from “Everyone”, “My Contacts”, and “Nobody”. If you do not share your Last Seen, you will not be able to see other users’ Last Seen status.

Read Receipts – By turning off Read Receipts, users will not be able to see if you have read their message – which appears as two blue ticks. However, you in turn will not be able to see if they have read your message.

Profile Photo and About – You can select who can see your Profile Photo and your About information. Options are “Everyone”, “My Contacts”, and “Nobody”