Technology
How to Use WhatsApp Privacy Settings for Maximum Control Over Your Information
Privacy-related concerns are among the serious issues in this digital age, necessarily in the use of WhatsApp or other instant messaging platforms. As a matter of fact, WhatsApp is one of the most downloaded message apps in the globe. It allows the user of this highly downloaded app to have several privacy features while keeping information from contacts within. The following tutorial pages will show how WhatsApp’s privacy settings can be used to provide it with full control over one’s personal information so that you can converse with your mind at ease.
Why WhatsApp Privacy Matters
That has never been more important than it is today, when incidents of cyberattacks and breaches of concerns continue to increase. WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted out of the box, meaning that only the sender and recipient can read messages. But WhatsApp lets you adjust privacy settings that control who can see your activity and details about your profile.
By managing these settings, you can:
- Protect your personal data from prying eyes.
- Prevent unauthorized access to your profile and messages.
- Avoid being added to unwanted groups that expose your phone number and information.
In short, controlling your privacy on WhatsApp ensures your conversations and personal data stay protected.
Understanding WhatsApp Privacy Settings
WhatsApp also makes different privacy settings available to be enabled so that the amount of your personal information that is given out can be controlled. You open the app, go into Settings, then Account, and finally select Privacy. The following are the main WhatsApp features:
However, it’s worth noting that some users opt for third-party apps like WhatsApp GB to gain access to additional privacy features not available in the official app. WhatsApp GB or GBWA offers enhanced privacy controls, such as hiding your online status, blue ticks, and even typing indicators, without limiting your ability to see others’.
Last Seen and Online Status
Your “Last Seen” timestamp shows the last time you were active on WhatsApp. Full control over this feature at any time is important regarding questions of privacy.
- Who can see it: You can decide whether to share the Last Seen status with everyone, only your contacts, or even no one at all.
- Impact: If any person hides their Last Seen status, they will no longer be able to see others’ status.
Profile Photo Visibility
The profile picture is very often the first thing with which one interacts when using WhatsApp; thus, being able to control who can see it or not may be important for privacy.
- Who can see it: Choose whether everyone can see your profile photo, only your contacts can, or no one can.
- Why it matters: Don’t expose your profile picture to strangers or contacts you may not be able to trust. Limiting the visibility to close friends and family helps avoid this situation.
About Info Privacy
The “About” section on WhatsApp is where you share a brief status or description about yourself. Although it might seem trivial, this information can reveal a lot about you if not managed properly.
- Who can see it: Control whether your About information is visible to everyone, only your contacts, or no one.
- Why it’s important: Sensitive or personal information in the About section should be limited to those you trust.
Status Updates Privacy
WhatsApp Status Updates Like many social media stories, through WhatsApp status updates, you can post text photos and videos for as long as 24 hours. As they are not permanent, they still need to beLng given significant privacy control.
- Who can see it: The visibility option will give you a choice between making your status updates visible for all of your contacts, selected ones, or only one specific group.
- Why it is important: A status update contains personal content and should therefore only be shared with trusted contacts.
Controlling Group Privacy on WhatsApp
Group chats can sometimes be overwhelming, especially when added without your consent. WhatsApp gives you control over who can add you to groups.
Who Can Add You to Groups
This feature allows you to decide who can add you to WhatsApp groups, preventing strangers or unknown contacts from adding you.
- Options: Set it so only your contacts or select contacts can add you to groups.
- Benefit: Reducing unwanted group invites not only protects your privacy but also limits who can see your phone number and other details shared in groups.
Managing Group Info and Participation
When you are in a group, it is time to manage your participation. You will be able to view the phone number of the group members, and at times, other information about the member, depending on the set permissions within the group.
- Visibility control: Limit your visibility in groups by choosing not to share any details and by leaving/muting those groups where you’re uncomfortable.
- Personal info: Be mindful about what you share in group chats to protect your privacy.
Blocking and Reporting Contacts for Enhanced Privacy
Arguably, one of the most effective ways to be in control of your WhatsApp interactions is through blocking. This implies keeping unwanted contacts from messaging you, viewing your profile photo, or assessing your status.
How to Block Contacts
Blocking someone on WhatsApp is simple and highly effective.
- Steps: Go to the contact’s chat, tap their name, and select “Block.”
- Impact: Once blocked, they can no longer send you messages or see your profile photo or Last Seen.
Reporting Suspicious Contacts
You can report unwanted or suspicious messages to WhatsApp.
- When to report: Spam, harassment, or any other abusive messages.
- What happens: WhatsApp will investigate this report then take necessary action if needed, thus helping one to keep a safe chatting environment.
Two-Step Verification for Added Security
Two-step verification adds an extra layer of security to your WhatsApp account by requiring a PIN whenever you register your phone number.
Enabling Two-Step Verification
Enabling two-step verification is easy, and it’s a surefire way to ensure only you can register your phone number with WhatsApp.
- steps: Go to WhatsApp settings, find something related to data sharing there, and opt out of it.
- Why it matters: By limiting any data-sharing at all, you retain a larger level of control over your personal information and are constraining focused advertisements through Facebook.
Managing Data Sharing Permissions with WhatsApp and Facebook
WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, has always brought up questions about the data shared between the platforms. The data shared doesn’t include your messages, but other personal info definitely does, such as phone numbers and device information.
Opting Out of Data Sharing with Facebook
You can manage your data sharing permissions to prevent WhatsApp from sharing your information with Facebook.
- Steps: In WhatsApp settings, look for the data-sharing options and opt-out.
- Why it’s important: Reducing data sharing helps you retain more control over your personal information and limits targeted ads from Facebook.
How to Secure Chats with End-to-End Encryption
WhatsApp’s default feature is end-to-end encryption, meaning only you and the person you’re communicating with can read your messages.
Verifying Encryption for Specific Chats
To ensure your chats are encrypted, you can verify the encryption status.
- Steps: Open a chat, tap the contact’s name, and select “Encryption.” You’ll see a code that ensures your messages are secure.
- Importance: Verifying encryption gives you peace of mind that your messages are protected from third parties.
Best Practices for WhatsApp Privacy
Maximizing your privacy on WhatsApp requires ongoing attention. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
Regularly Update Your App
WhatsApp updates its privacy features regularly, so keeping the app updated means you have access to the latest security tools.
- Why it matters: Updates often include critical privacy enhancements to protect your data.
Be Mindful of Shared Links and Media
Shared media, like photos and videos, can expose personal information if you’re not careful.
- Tips: Only share content with trusted contacts, and be mindful of what’s visible in your photos or videos.
Conclusion: Take Control of Your Privacy on WhatsApp
WhatsApp has other powerful features with regard to privacy: basically, the right for users to decide with whom they share their personal information and where their data spreads. From settings controlling your Last Seen, enabling two-step verification-these set-ups give you ways to make sure your data is kept secure. Thus, be sure that your information is going to stay safe, protected by your choice, when you go through your privacy settings and update them from time to time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is there a way that I can hide my WhatsApp profile photo from someone?
Go to Settings > Account > Privacy > Profile Photo and select “My Contacts Except.” to exclude the photo from certain people.
What happens if I block a person on WhatsApp?
The blocked contact cannot see your Last Seen, profile photo, and even cannot send you messages.
Can I somehow stop adding me to different groups without asking for my permission?
Yes, you can. To do this, go into Settings -> Privacy -> Groups, and then select either “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except.”
How do I know my chat in WhatsApp is encrypted?
To verify the security code, making sure that end-to-end encryption is enabled, tap on the name of the contact in the conversation, then on “Encryption”.
What does two-step verification do, and why should I enable it?
Two-step verification works by first providing an extra layer during WhatsApp’s registering process, whereby one has to create a PIN, which offers additional security to prevent unauthorized access to the account.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A designed-in-house server known as Nathu La has been launched by a global technology company, Zoho Corporation.
Nathu La is engineered with hardware-rooted security at every layer of the stack. Its indigenous IP-driven approach reduces dependency on external entities for security audits, firmware updates, and licensing continuity.
The solution aligns with open-source software principles and reflects Zoho’s broader commitment to building sustainable, secure, and scalable digital infrastructure. It also supports the growing global focus on digital sovereignty, local innovation ecosystems, and high-performance computing capabilities.
The platform was introduced by the company as part of a pivotal step in its journey towards building its full technology stack, from the hardware layer to software applications.
With Nathu La, Zoho has achieved equivalent performance with 12-18 per cent lower power consumption and 20-30 per cent lower total cost of ownership (TCO), thereby reducing inference costs.
The Nathu La server, comprising Intel® Xeon® 6 processors, was developed collaboratively with Intel, leveraging their enablement capabilities and technical expertise.
The design philosophy behind Nathu La is rooted in the Open Compute Project (OCP), emphasising modularity, thermal efficiency, and ease of maintenance. This enables Zoho’s data centres to significantly reduce total cost of ownership and power consumption.
Zoho plans to host its applications on the Nathu La server platform, enabling the company to optimise the full software-hardware stack for its specific workloads, reduce costs, improve performance, and strengthen data governance for its global customers. This will also help bring down inference costs for Zoho’s AI usage.
The Nathu La server motherboard and chassis platform is the result of five years of R&D across hardware, firmware, and systems management. Based on Intel® Xeon® 6 Processors, the server is designed to optimise performance for virtualisation (VM), High Performance Computing (HPC), AI inference, and storage applications. This results in improved performance of Zoho applications for end users.
The server features customised power delivery subsystems, an in-house DC-SCM (Data Centre Secure Control Module) design, and modular chassis options compatible with diverse end-user environments, offering flexibility across deployment types.
All modular components – including the DC-SCM and NIC (Network Interface Card) – were designed in-house by Zoho’s hardware engineering team and assembled through electronics manufacturing partners, enabling tighter integration and quality control across the platform. Over five patents have been filed covering advanced thermal management and cost-optimised server architecture designs.
“Zoho Corporation has invested in building its own technology stack from the ground up over the last three decades. The Nathu La server launch is in line with that goal.
“With our strategy of using contextual, right-sized models, running on our own platform, on our own servers, in our own data centres, we are compounding the benefits accrued from owning and operating our entire technology stack. This ensures that our solutions are more sustainable and accessible for businesses.
“These long-term R&D investments we are making at every layer of the stack are aimed at delivering customer value,” the Country Head for Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, stated.
In 2020, Zoho established a small R&D team in Nagpur, a Tier 2 town in India, focused on projects such as server design and systems engineering.
Members of the Nathu La R&D team include hires from SETU – short for Students’ Engagement for Transformative Upskilling – an initiative designed to build a pipeline of industry-ready engineers, with a focus on advanced learning in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The financial technology arm of MTN is mulling a direct shift into lending after bringing on its parent company, MTN Group, as a major investor to help cushion against losses that have plagued the business.
According to MTN Group Fintech chief executive, Mr Serigne Dioum, the company wants to move beyond helping customers access loans through partners.
He said in markets where regulators allow it, MTN wants to lend directly and use its own balance sheet.
“We’ve expanded access to credit for more people, but we also want to move further up the lending value chain,” Mr Dioum told investors at the company’s capital markets day.
“Where appropriate, we will seek licences that allow us not only to facilitate loans but also to lend directly to customers and deploy our own balance sheet.”
This development is expected to create a shift in its current fintech model which provides financial services, including deposits, payments, transfers and digital wallets to individuals and small businesses via digital and mobile‑based platforms.
The company has applied for Payment Solution Service Provider and Payment Terminal Service Provider licences through MoMo PSB, its Nigerian fintech subsidiary. If approved, the licences would allow MTN to handle more payment processing, build merchant payment tools, deploy and manage POS terminals, and reduce its dependence on third-party processors.
Despite the opportunities present in the credit market, direct lending could give MTN a larger share of revenue, but it would also expose the company to credit risk, regulation and tougher competition with banks and digital lenders.
Mr Dioum said only about 4 per cent to 5 per cent of adults have access to formal credit across the African continent. In Nigeria, the funding problem is especially severe.
A 2025 report by the National Credit Guarantee Company said nearly 80 per cent of Nigerian MSMEs lack access to formal credit, while Stears has estimated the country’s MSME financing gap at about $236 billion.
For traders, small shop owners, transport operators and households, access to small loans can determine whether they restock inventory, pay suppliers, cover emergencies or expand a business.
In April, MTN Nigeria announced that its parent firm, based in South Africa, would acquire a 60 per cent stake in MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited (MoMo PSB) and Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS) Limited.
The fintech units are currently loss-making, and this move will help MTN Nigeria to reduce financial risk and share future losses and investment burden. However, it will still keep a significant minority stake (40 per cent).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The reach of the Meta Business Agent is being expanded to Instagram and other platforms of the social media giant.
Meta Business Agent is an artificial intelligence (AI) that allows business owners to attend to customers’ needs with ease.
Customers expect instant responses, but no team can be everywhere at once. This innovation handles such without hassles.
It helps businesses to answer questions specific to the business, makes product recommendations from the catalogue, books appointments, qualifies incoming leads, and closes sales.
More than one million businesses are already using a Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp and Messenger to respond to customers around the clock.
“We’re now expanding our Business Agent to businesses big and small globally, so within minutes you can have yours up and running, responding in your customer’s local language using your tone,” Meta said in a statement.
“We’re also expanding these agents to Instagram since businesses connect with their customers there, too. Businesses can activate their Business Agent here. Getting started with the Business Agent is free. In the coming months, businesses will access the agent through our paid subscription offerings, with options for businesses of every size,” it added.
Meta also stated that it is making it simpler for people to discover businesses powered by a Meta Business Agent directly on WhatsApp. It noted that starting soon, people will be able to find businesses by typing their name in the Search bar, or by sharing their phone number or contact card in chats with friends and family. This way, when more customers reach out, they get a quick, helpful response.
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