Khaberni - WhatsApp announced the launch of a new advanced security feature aimed at enhancing account protection against sophisticated cyber attacks that may target some of the most vulnerable users.
The new feature, named Strict Account Settings, comes in the context of escalating cyber threats around the world, especially against public figures such as journalists, activists, and public personalities.
According to recent reports, the feature can be activated from the app's privacy settings, where it modifies several options in the account with the aim of reducing the chances of exploitation through advanced spying techniques or social engineering attacks.
Strict Account Settings
The new feature adds an additional layer of security by locking some settings and making them more restrictive, through a set of measures including automatically blocking media and attachments from unknown contacts, and disabling link previews in chats, which prevents the loading of thumbnails that could be exploited to hack the device.
Also, muting calls from unknown numbers and restricting who can add you to groups, and specifying who sees your personal information such as name, picture, and status are necessary.
These settings work to reduce the attacks that hackers or spyware might utilize to access user data or exploit the device.
It is expected that this will be particularly useful for people who believe they may be targets of complex and sophisticated hacking campaigns.
Additional Security Levels
Although WhatsApp provides comprehensive encryption for both parties in conversations, the app recognizes that this is not sufficient in some exceptional cases, and therefore, a few categories of users are susceptible to rare advanced attacks that require additional security levels; thus, an option has been introduced that can be activated when needed.
WhatsApp's move aligns with the approaches of other major technology companies to offer high-level security modes to their users.
In recent years, Apple introduced Lockdown Mode to protect iPhone users from advanced threats, and Google adopted Advanced Protection Mode in the Android system.
Activating the Feature
Users can enable Strict Account Settings by opening WhatsApp on their phone, navigating to Settings, then Privacy, selecting Advanced, and activating Strict Account Settings.
However, it is important to note that this feature cannot be activated from WhatsApp Web, but must be done from the primary device of the user.
Also, some restrictions impose changes in the user experience such as not receiving files from non-contact sources, hence, WhatsApp advises that it should only be activated by those who feel they are at high risk.
