WhatsApp has recently introduced three new security measures to enhance the safety and protection of its widely used communication application, aimed at safeguarding its users against possible threats.
These measures, which include “account protect,” “device verification,” and “automatic security codes,” were announced in a blog post by the company on April 13.
The purpose of these features is to provide additional privacy layers and more message control to users.
Account Protect
With the new “Account Protect” feature, WhatsApp will offer an extra layer of security to users who wish to transfer their account to a different device.
As a security measure, users may be prompted to confirm their intention to switch accounts on their previous device.
This added security check can help detect any unauthorized attempts to transfer the account to a new device and notify the user accordingly.
Device Verification
The prevalence of mobile device malware poses a significant risk to individuals’ privacy and security, as it can exploit their phone without their knowledge and utilize their WhatsApp account to send unsolicited messages.
To mitigate this threat, WhatsApp has implemented security checks to verify the authenticity of users’ accounts automatically.
In the event of a compromised device, these measures offer enhanced protection to users, requiring no action on their part.
This allows for uninterrupted use of WhatsApp without compromising privacy or security.
Automatic Security Codes
WhatsApp’s security code verification feature has always been available to our most security-conscious users.
This feature helps confirm that users are communicating with the intended recipient by allowing them to manually check the encryption tab under a contact’s information.
In order to make this process more user-friendly and accessible to all, we are introducing a security feature based on a technique called “Key Transparency.”
With this new feature, users will be able to automatically verify that their connection is secure, allowing them to check the encryption tab and immediately confirm that their conversation is private and secure.
What is End-To-End Encryption Of WhatsApp?
WhatsApp’s private messaging system is built upon the foundation of end-to-end encryption, which guarantees that only the sender and receiver of a message can access its content, and not even WhatsApp can intercept it.
According to WhatsApp’s blog, this encryption system is one of the most commonly employed implementations of end-to-end encryption and is based on public key cryptography that was initially developed in the 1970s.
