In today’s digital age, WhatsApp is one of the most popular and important messaging applications. Due to its wide utility, it has become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. But when it comes to privacy, we should always be cautious. In this article, we will focus on five important privacy features of WhatsApp that can help keep your data safe and ensure your privacy.
1. Control the details (Last Seen)
The “Last Seen” feature in WhatsApp tells you when your contact last used the application. This feature can affect your privacy if not controlled properly. You can easily control it by going to your settings:
– Go to Settings: Open WhatsApp and click on the three dots (menu button), then go to ‘Settings’.
– Privacy Settings: Click on ‘Privacy’ option and then tap on ‘Last Seen’.
– Select option: Here you can choose between ‘Everyone’, ‘My Contacts’, ‘My Contacts Except…’, or ‘Nobody’. Selecting ‘Nobody’ will prevent anyone from seeing your last online status.
By using this feature correctly, you can control your online activity and show your last seen status only to your selected contacts.
2. Disable Double Check Marks (Read Receipts)
The double check marks indicate whether your message has been read or not. While this feature makes communication transparent, sometimes you don’t want others to know that you’ve read their message. You can turn it off:
– Go to Settings: Open WhatsApp and click on the menu button, then go to ‘Settings’.
– Privacy Settings: Tap on ‘Privacy’ and turn off the ‘Read Receipts’ option.
Please note that if you turn off this feature, you also won’t be able to see others’ read message information.
3. Use Disappearing Messages
Disappearing messages is a feature that automatically deletes the message you send after a specified time. This feature is especially useful for chats in which you want to maintain privacy. To activate it:
– Go to chat: Open the chat in which you want to activate disappearing messages.
– Go to Chat Info: Tap on the name at the top of the chat and go to ‘Disappearing Messages’.
– Activate the feature: Tap ‘On’ and the messages will automatically disappear after a week. You can choose from a period of 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
This feature helps improve your privacy, especially for messages you don’t want to keep for a long time.
4. Log out of WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp Web is a feature that allows you to use WhatsApp on your computer or laptop. However, if you logged in on a public or shared computer, you should log out for safety:
– Go to Settings: Open WhatsApp and click on the menu button, then go to ‘Linked Devices’.
– View devices: Here you can see which devices are connected to your WhatsApp account.
– Log out: Tap on the device you want to log out of and select the ‘Log out’ option.
This protects your account from unauthorized use and safeguards your privacy.
5. Profile photo and status privacy settings
Your profile photo and status can also affect your privacy. You can control these to make sure only your selected group can see them:
– Profile photo: Go to Settings and tap ‘Privacy’. Here, click on ‘Profile Photo’ and choose an option from ‘Everyone’, ‘My Contacts’, ‘My Contacts Except…’, or ‘Nobody’.
– Status: Similarly, tap on ‘Status’ and from here too you can choose ‘Everyone’, ‘My Contacts’, ‘My Contacts Except…’, or ‘Only Share With…’ options.
By setting these settings correctly, you can ensure that your profile photo and status are only visible to the people you want.
By using these privacy features of WhatsApp properly, you can enhance the security of your personal data and communications. This ensures that your privacy is protected and your data is secure. These features can be easily controlled by going to your settings. So, make sure to use these features to ensure your privacy and keep your data safe.
– Animesh Sharma