WhatsApp Privacy Tips: These 8 Settings Can Make Your Account More Secure — Follow These Steps

WhatsApp has become one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the world, with millions of users relying on it daily for personal and professional communication. However, its massive popularity has also made it a prime target for online scammers and cybercriminals. From phishing attempts to identity theft, WhatsApp users are increasingly facing privacy-related threats.

To counter these risks, WhatsApp continues to strengthen its end-to-end encryption and introduce advanced privacy tools. Still, many users are unaware of how to properly configure these features. If used correctly, WhatsApp’s built-in privacy settings can significantly reduce the risk of data misuse and unauthorized access.

Here are eight essential WhatsApp privacy settings that can help make your account far more secure, along with step-by-step guidance on how to enable them.

Why WhatsApp Privacy Settings Matter

Users often share sensitive information on WhatsApp, such as Aadhaar details, bank-related information, OTPs, personal photos, and official documents. If privacy settings are left unsecured, this data can be exploited for fraud, identity theft, and other online scams.

Taking a few minutes to adjust WhatsApp’s privacy controls can go a long way in protecting your personal information.

To access most of these settings, follow this basic path:

• Open WhatsApp

• Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner

• Select Settings

• Go to Privacy

1. Control Last Seen, Online Status, and Profile Visibility

WhatsApp allows users to decide who can see their Last Seen, Online status, Profile Photo, and About information. You can set these options to be visible to everyone, only your contacts, selected contacts, or no one at all.

Restricting this visibility helps prevent unknown users and scammers from tracking your activity or gathering personal details.

2. Use Disappearing Messages for Sensitive Chats

The Disappearing Messages feature automatically deletes messages after a chosen time period — 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.

To enable it:

• Open a chat

• Tap the contact name or group info

• Select Disappearing Messages

• Choose the desired timer

This feature is especially useful for conversations involving sensitive or temporary information.

3. Enable Two-Step Verification for Extra Security

Two-step verification adds an extra layer of protection to your WhatsApp account.

To turn it on:

• Go to Settings > Account > Two-step verification

• Create a 6-digit PIN

• Add an email address for recovery

This ensures that even if someone gains access to your SIM card, they cannot activate WhatsApp without your PIN.

4. Lock Private Chats with Chat Lock

The Chat Lock feature allows you to secure individual chats using biometric authentication such as fingerprint or face recognition.

To enable it:

• Open the chat you want to lock

• Scroll down and select Chat Lock

• Turn it on

Locked chats remain hidden and can only be accessed using your biometric credentials, adding an extra privacy shield.

5. Use Advanced Privacy Settings for Better Protection

Under Settings > Privacy > Advanced, WhatsApp offers several powerful privacy controls, including:

• Blocking messages from unknown accounts

• Protecting your IP address during calls

• Turning off link previews

While some of these options may slightly affect call quality or preview features, they greatly enhance overall privacy and reduce tracking risks.

6. Turn Off Read Receipts

Read receipts (blue ticks) can reveal when you have read a message. Disabling them prevents scammers from monitoring your activity.

To disable:

• Go to Settings > Privacy

• Turn off Read Receipts

Note that this also disables your ability to see read receipts from others.

7. Disable Automatic Media Downloads

Automatic downloading of images, videos, and files can expose your device to malicious content and consume unnecessary storage.

To manage this:

• Go to Settings > Storage and Data

• Turn off automatic downloads for mobile data, Wi-Fi, and roaming

This helps protect your device from hidden malware and suspicious media files.

8. Enable Advanced Chat Privacy

With Advanced Chat Privacy, users can prevent chats from being exported outside WhatsApp. It also disables automatic media saving.

This feature ensures that conversations remain within the app and are not shared externally without consent. In group chats, however, admins may control whether participants can modify these settings.

Final Thoughts

WhatsApp offers robust privacy tools, but their effectiveness depends on how well users configure them. By enabling these eight essential settings, you can significantly reduce your exposure to online scams, data leaks, and unauthorized access.

In an era where digital privacy is more important than ever, taking proactive steps to secure your messaging app is not optional—it’s essential. Users are strongly advised to review their WhatsApp privacy settings regularly and stay alert to suspicious activity.

A few smart adjustments today can help protect your personal data tomorrow.