If you use WhatsApp, you’re in good company: the app has over 2 billion monthly active users who use it to communicate with friends and family both at home and abroad.
The app has one prominent privacy feature: end-to-end encryption, which means that only you and the recipient of a message can read the message’s contents. Even so, if you use WhatsApp, you may be sharing more information with your contacts—or anyone who has your phone number—than you realize. You’re also giving Facebook, which owns the service, a lot of information.
Our testing reveals the truth.
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Your “about” blurb and photo, as well as when you were last online and whether or not you read a message, are all shared with other users. Unless you tighten up your privacy settings, anyone with your phone number has access to everything. Furthermore, if you check your messages instead of working on the presentation due in an hour, your boss will notice, and your friends will notice if you see a message but don’t respond right away.
More importantly, WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which many people are unaware of. Facebook may not be able to read your messages, but it can see who you contact, when, how often, and from where you contact them. WhatsApp users do not have the option to opt-out of any of this data sharing.
It’s also possible for police with a warrant to obtain information about people you’ve called or texted or who have called or texted you. The messages will not be encrypted if you choose to back up your WhatsApp data to iCloud or Google Drive. Every message you’ve sent through the app will be accessible to anyone with access to your cloud account.
If you don’t like Facebook’s data collection practices, you might want to try Signal, a messaging app with end-to-end encryption and much better privacy policies. On WhatsApp, however, you can limit who has access to your location data or information about when you’re online, disable read receipts, and prevent people from adding you to group chats without your permission. Here’s how to do it.
If you don’t want people to know you’re online, don’t tell them.
Anyone scrolling through WhatsApp contacts and clicking on your name can see if you’re using the app right now (i.e., connected to the internet and WhatsApp open in the foreground on your device) or when you were last using it. You can avoid it, but it’s a two-edged sword: You won’t be able to see other people’s Last Seen status if you don’t share your own.
On an iPhone, type:
Go to WhatsApp > Account > Privacy > Last Seen > Settings > Account > Last Seen. There, you can choose whether this information is visible to everyone, only people in your contact list, or no one at all.
On an Android phone, do the following:
Go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Last Seen (the three dots in the upper right corner). There, you can choose whether this information is visible to everyone, only people in your contact list, or no one at all.
Remove the photo from your profile.
You don’t want your profile photo to be visible to anyone who has your phone number? You can change this, and making your profile photo private will not prevent you from seeing other people’s.
On an iPhone, type:
Select “everyone,” “my contacts,” or “nobody” under WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Privacy > Profile Photo.
On an Android phone, do the following:
Select “everyone,” “my contacts,” or “nobody” under WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Profile Photo.
Hide the information in your ‘About’ section.
When you click on a contact’s name in WhatsApp, you may see a brief bio, a clever blurb, or simply an away message. You can select from options such as “battery about to die,” “Can’t talk, WhatsApp only,” “in a meeting,” “at the gym,” “sleeping,” or “urgent calls only” on WhatsApp. You can also make your blurb based on the blurb. It’s up to you whether you want it to be public, private, or only visible to your contacts. You won’t be able to see anyone else’s “about” information if you make it private.
On an iPhone, type:
Go to WhatsApp > Account > Privacy > Settings. Decide between “everyone,” “my contacts,” and “nobody.”
On an Android phone, do the following:
Go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Delete Account > Delete Account > Delete Account > Delete Account > Delete Account Make a decision between “everyone,” “my contacts,” and “nobody.”
If you don’t want to be added to random group chats, don’t do it.
Without your permission, people can add you to group chats on WhatsApp. You can, however, customize your settings to limit who can add you to groups. If an administrator is unable to add you to a group, they can invite you privately instead.
On an iPhone, type: Select “everyone,” “my contacts,” or “my contacts except” under WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups. Check off anyone you don’t want to be able to add you to groups if you choose “My contacts except.”
WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Groups and select “everyone,” “my contacts,” or “my contacts except” on an Android phone. Check off anyone you don’t want to be able to add you to groups if you choose “My contacts except.”
In Chat, turn off your live location.
Turn off live locations in chats where it is enabled if you don’t want people to know where you are.
On an iPhone, go to WhatsApp > Account > Privacy > Live Location to see a list of the chats where you’re sharing this information. Remove any chats where you’d like to limit live location access.
On an Android phone, do the following:
Select WhatsApp > Menu > Account > Privacy > Live Location from the drop-down menu. You can then choose whether to allow WhatsApp to access your device location while using the app or not.
Access to your status updates can be restricted.
WhatsApp lets you send photos, videos, GIFs, and text updates that vanish after 24 hours. Mutual contacts—that is, people whose phone numbers you have saved in your address book and who have their phone numbers saved in yours—can see these. You can choose to share these with all of your contacts or just the ones you want. You can also send it to all of your contacts, except for a few. Changing the privacy settings on your status update will not affect the status of any vb updates you’ve already made.
On an iPhone, type: Select “My Contacts,” “My Contacts Except,” or “Only Share With” under WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Privacy > Status. Check anyone who shouldn’t see these status updates under “My Contacts Except.” Select the contacts you want to share these status updates with under “The only Share With.”
On an Android phone, do the following: Select “My Contacts,” “My Contacts Except,” or “Only Share With” under WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Status. Check anyone who shouldn’t see these status updates under “My Contacts Except.” Select the contacts you want to share these status updates with under “The only Share With.”
Related Guide: How To Make the Most Of Instagram’s Privacy Settings
People You Don’t Want to Hear From Can Be Blocked.
Blocking contacts on WhatsApp prevents them from calling you or sending you messages through the app.
On an iPhone, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Privacy > Blocked to see who you’ve blocked, and then tap “Add New” to add a new contact to your block list. You can also block someone by clicking on their name, scrolling down, and clicking “block contact” near the bottom of the page.
On an Android phone, do the following:
To see who you’ve blocked, go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Blocked Contacts. To add a new contact, go to the top-right icon (a person with a plus sign next to their name) and select the person you want to block. You can also block a specific contact by clicking on their name, selecting the “I” icon, and scrolling down to “block” near the bottom of the page. You can also go to Menu> More > Block contact after clicking on the Contact’s name.
For personal chats, turn off read receipts.
Don’t want people to know if you’re ignoring their message or if you’ve read it but haven’t responded? You have the option to disable read receipts. Just keep in mind that you won’t see other people’s read receipts if you do so. In group chats, there is no way to disable read receipts.
On an iPhone, type:
Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Privacy > Messages > Messages > Messages > Messages > Receipts can be turned on or off by reading them.
On an Android phone, do the following:
Go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Privacy > Delete Account > Delete Account > Delete Account > Delete Account > Delete Account Receipts can be turned on or off by reading them.
Your Messages Will Disappear
WhatsApp recently introduced a new feature that allows users to delete messages after seven days. Because a week is a long time for someone to take a screenshot, this isn’t foolproof. It also does not affect the recipient’s ability to auto-download all of their WhatsApp messages, forward the message, and so on.
The message will be deleted if the person you’re texting doesn’t open WhatsApp within seven days, but its preview may still appear in notifications. If someone quotes a disappearing message, the quoted text may stay in the Chat after the seven days has passed.
On an iPhone, go to the contact page for the person you want to use WhatsApp with, scroll down to “disappearing messages,” and turn it on.
On an Android phone, go to the contact page for the person you want to use WhatsApp with, scroll down to “disappearing messages,” and turn it on.
Read: Google Privacy Settings | How To Use Them
Backups of chats should be avoided.
Backing up your chat history to iCloud or Google Drive ensures that you can recover old conversations if you lose your phone, but it also means that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption no longer protects the data. Apple or Google could theoretically read the chats or hand them over to law enforcement.
So, if you’re concerned about keeping your communications private, turn off those backups. You can also delete any previously backed-up chats. You’ll also want to make sure that the people you’re texting aren’t recording the conversations.
On an iPhone, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Auto Backup and select “off” to disable cloud backups. Then go to System Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > WhatsApp > Backup on your iPhone to make sure it’s gone. Go to iOS settings > Chats to delete old chats. WhatsApp Messenger > Edit > Delete All in iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > WhatsApp Messenger > Edit > Delete All in iCloud.
On an Android phone, do the following:
Go to WhatsApp’s Menu, then to Settings, then to Chats, then to Chat Backup. Go back to Google Drive and select “Recovery” from the drop-down menu. Never, ever. Log in to https://drive.google.com, click the gear icon, and go to Settings > Managing Apps > WhatsApp Messenger > Options > Delete Old Chats. Delete the information. Remove the app’s connection to Google Drive.
Photo backups should also be turned off.
Photos received via WhatsApp are saved in the camera roll of your phone. You can turn off iCloud or Google Drive backups for images on your phone if you don’t want to do so for WhatsApp.
On an iPhone, type:
If you don’t want the photos and videos you receive saved to your phone’s camera roll, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Save to Camera Roll and toggle the switch to “off.”
On an Android phone, do the following:
If you don’t want to see newly downloaded media in your phone’s gallery, go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Chats > Media Visibility and toggle the switch to “off.”
Multifactor Authentication should be enabled.
To make users’ accounts more secure, WhatsApp offers multifactor Authentication. In addition to your password, most services with MFA require you to log in by entering a short-lived numerical code generated by an app or sent to you via text message. If a hacker or someone else has your password, it will be much more difficult for them to access your account. WhatsApp doesn’t use a one-time code. Instead, you can create a PIN to help protect your account. Turning on this feature is a good idea.
On an iPhone, type:
Select enable and enter a six-digit PIN in WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Two-step Verification. You have the option of adding an email address to your account so that you can reset your PIN if you forget it, or you can skip this step.
On an Android phone, do the following:
To enable two-step verification, go to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Account > Two-Step Verification. Enter a six-digit PIN after selecting enable. You have the option of adding an email address to your account so that you can reset your PIN if you forget it, or you can skip this step.
Abuse should be reported to WhatsApp.
You can report content to WhatsApp if you receive a threatening, intimidating, harassing message or otherwise violates WhatsApp’s terms of service. (You can also report it to local law enforcement outside of the app.)
On an iPhone, type:
Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Help > Contact Us and fill out the form. Tap on the Contact or group name, scroll to the bottom, and tap “Report contact” or “Report group” to report messages from an unknown number or group.
On an Android phone, do the following: Go to WhatsApp’s Menu, then to Settings, then to Help, and Contact Us. Tap on the Contact or group name, scroll to the bottom, and tap “report contact” or “report group” to report messages from an unknown number or group.
Please obtain a copy of your account information by contacting us.
You can ask WhatsApp for a copy of your account information and settings that it has access to. The report takes three days to arrive, which is a security measure WhatsApp employs if a phone is stolen but not yet disabled. Your request will be canceled if you delete your account or change your phone number. The account download feature allows you to see what kind of information WhatsApp saves about your account. It doesn’t have any messages in it. Be aware that police may be able to obtain this type of account information with a warrant. If a judge agrees, police can install a “pen register” and a “trap and trace device” on a WhatsApp account, which will record inbound and outbound phone numbers used for calls and text messages.