WhatsApp: You should know these five privacy settings

Created: 03/25/2022Updated: 03/25/2022 13:45

By: Anna Lorenz

WhatsApp: Data protection is desirable with Messenger - but the functions against data theft and Co. can be cumbersome.

© Ralph Peters/imago

WhatsApp: Anyone who uses the messenger service from Meta (formerly Facebook) can adapt it to their personal needs.

The advantages and disadvantages at a glance.

Munich – WhatsApp: Loved and hated – billions of people around the world use the messenger service every day.

The app, which now belongs to the Facebook empire Meta, delivers tens of thousands of messages every minute, from superficial small talk to sensitive data, everything is represented.

Many users consciously ignore the fact that the data protection of the short message provider leaves a lot to be desired and hope that their conversations will simply not be considered in the abundance of global information exchange.

WhatsApp and data protection - the messenger service knows all this about its users

But if you read the terms and conditions more closely, you will almost get dizzy with how much information the short message service receives en passant about its users: WhatsApp not only saves all the information you have entered yourself, such as telephone number, profile picture or status, but can also store all contacts read in the address book.

In order to be able to use all the advantages of WhatsApp, you also have to grant various access rights* - gallery, camera, microphone - and of course you reveal additional data with these functions.

According to the messenger service, photos are dismantled and deleted immediately after temporary storage - but anyone who creates a back-up only moves the information to Google Drive.

WhatsApp alternatives: That's why they make sense - but often not an option

The rumors circulating online about WhatsApp storage in Russia are false - nevertheless, the servers in the USA, via which WhatsApp operates, are not subject to the strict requirements of German data protection.

So it's no wonder that there are many messenger services that want to score points by paying more attention to the security of sensitive information.

The most well-known of these WhatsApp alternatives can be found in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store - by the way, there are now explosive innovations here*.

Already on May 15, 2021 - when WhatsApp radically obliged users worldwide to use new terms and conditions - established messengers evaluate this video for you:

But despite all the alternatives, WhatsApp has a decisive advantage: almost everyone has it.

This quasi-monopoly makes it almost impossible to turn your back on the messenger service if you don't want to complicate everyday life immensely.

Switching to the old-fashioned SMS variant doesn't lure most users either - WhatsApp, with its many useful and bizarre exchange options*, is simply too seductive for that.

WhatsApp: "Well meant is not well done" - These data protection options are available with the meta messenger service

provide a bit of security with WhatsApp

.

If you want to protect your data, you can modify the app accordingly, but one thing first: Well-intentioned is not always well done.

Regular updates:

 To minimize possible risks, you should always use the latest WhatsApp version.

The updates fix discovered gaps in the security network of the messenger service*.

In the app on the smartphone, the software updates can be carried out automatically, in the web version it is sufficient to regularly refresh the browser tab.

First, WhatsApp can only close security gaps that are known, there is no guaranteed data protection.

Secondly, some of the updates require a lot of data volume;

So if you are not logged into a WLAN network, you may be using a lot of mobile Internet.

Verification using a QR code:

 To ensure that the person you are talking to is really who you think you are, you can have the WhatsApp chat validated.

To do this, you have to read the QR code, which the app displays in the "Encryption" menu item on the other person's smartphone, using a scanner app - you probably know the procedure from the recently updated digital vaccination card. *

This The method only works if you meet in person.

However, the people with whom you are in contact in real life are usually familiar enough to be able to rely on the cell phone number - and to notify each other in the event of data theft.

Coincidence?

The menu in the "Security" tab on WhatsApp is not exactly generous.

© Valentin Wolf/imagebroker/imago

Activation of security notifications:

In the "Security" tab, WhatsApp users can activate security notifications;

a message is sent if the caller's phone number changes or he reinstalls the messenger app.

So you are notified and can ask others if hackers had their fingers in the pie.

Be honest - would you really do that?

Setting up a PIN lock:

The messenger service offers WhatsApp users the option of "two-step verification" in the settings, which is located in the "Account" menu item.

Users can PIN the app here, so a six-digit code is required to re-register the app.

If you don't remember the PIN very well, you'll have a problem signing in on a new device, especially if you lose your phone and can't unlock the PIN anymore.

WhatsApp and Co.: This is how you can protect data with your smartphone yourself

If you are not convinced of the possibilities that WhatsApp offers in the application itself when it comes to cell phone security, you can make some settings yourself to protect your own data.

Security software:

installed is always a good thing, but

the only

here may be an unfortunate choice of app.

App security:

Another option is to

so that the app can only be accessed after decrypting it first.

Anyone who uses WhatsApp regularly knows that this idea can hardly be surpassed in terms of impracticality.

Having to enter a PIN for every message may promote the digital detox, but for many it is simply not suitable for everyday use.

There may also be problems with push notifications.

Restriction of access rights:

All the approaches presented so far to operate data protection on WhatsApp leave out one thing: the data octopus WhatsApp itself. So if you are less afraid that your messages will be read by the wrong people, but do not want your information to fall into the wrong hands , has no choice but to severely restrict the rights of the app itself.

Modern smartphones now offer the option

in the settings .

For example, you can do without the location message and only allow it when needed.

Anyone who neither uses WhatsApp nor is a friend of voice messages does not need to give the app access to the microphone.

Actually, we could

and talk "old-school" in person or by phone.

However, accustomed to the joys and sorrows of constant availability, we now automatically ask ourselves the question: "What's

?"