ÊTRE CYBER
etrecyber.frby Christophe Mazzola
FR
WhatsApp · mobile app

WhatsApp: what strangers can see

WhatsApp encrypts the content of your messages, and that is good. But by default your photo, status and details are visible to anyone with your number. Eight minutes to close that.

6 réglages · 8 min

  1. 01

    Restrict photo, status and info to your contacts

    The path

    RéglagesConfidentialitéPhoto de profil

    By default everyone can see them. Your photo is what makes a fake profile credible when it writes to your circle in your name.

  2. 02

    Hide last seen

    The path

    RéglagesConfidentialitéVu à

    Same logic as activity status: knowing when you are online means knowing when you are not.

  3. 03

    Set group adds to “My contacts”

    The path

    RéglagesConfidentialitéGroupes

    Otherwise anyone can drop you into a group of two hundred strangers, the classic entry point for investment scams.

  4. 04

    Lock WhatsApp with fingerprint or face

    The path

    RéglagesConfidentialitéVerrouillage de l’application

    If the phone is taken or stolen while unlocked, the messenger stays shut. It is the one app that deserves a second lock.

  5. 05

    Turn on encrypted backup

    The path

    RéglagesDiscussionsSauvegardeSauvegarde chiffrée de bout en bout

    This is the hole in the net: without it your messages are encrypted in transit but the backup is not, and the host can read it.

  6. 06

    Turn on the six-digit PIN

    The path

    RéglagesCompteVérification en deux étapes

    This is what blocks account theft by number transfer. Without it, whoever gets your number gets your WhatsApp.

You have been through all of them.

These settings do not need redoing every month, but they are worth checking after every major system update: that is when some of them quietly return to their original value.

The related area

Secure messagingEnd-to-end encryption is the sealed envelope of the digital world: no one but you and your recipient can read, not even the platform. It is exactly what Chat Control would put at risk.See the actions

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