What’s happened? WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will let users enable multiple privacy and security settings with one tap.
- According to WABetaInfo, the latest WhatsApp beta for Android includes evidence of an upcoming “Strict account settings” feature.
- Designed for users who believe they are at risk of a cyberattack, this feature will offer a quick way to change multiple security settings.
- Once enabled, the feature will block media and attachments from unknown senders, disable link previews, silence unknown callers, and restrict group invites to contacts.
- It will also enable two-step verification, protect the user’s IP address during calls, and alert them if a contact’s security code changes in an end-to-end encrypted chat.
Why is this important? The new feature will offer users a more convenient method to turn on WhatsApp’s existing privacy and security settings simultaneously.
- It’ll be particularly beneficial for users who may be frequent targets of scams or cyberattacks, as it eliminates the need to manually configure each setting.
- By bundling all critical protections together, the feature will also reduce the risk of human error and ensure users don’t accidentally overlook an important setting.
- It should also make the app’s privacy and security settings more accessible to less tech-savvy users.
Why should I care? The feature will allow you to secure your WhatsApp account with one tap and protect yourself from spam calls, sketchy links, and random media from unknown numbers.
- It will also protect your private details, like profile photo, status, online and last seen info, and IP address from bad actors.
- If you’re not familiar with all of WhatsApp’s privacy and security features, this feature should give you an easy way to lock down your account without wading through endless menus.
What’s next? The “Strict account settings” feature is still in development and isn’t available to beta testers yet. It may undergo additional changes, with WhatsApp tweaking or expanding some of the included protection before the final version goes live. There’s no release timeline yet, but the feature will likely appear in a future beta build before a wider release.
