By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A popular messaging platform, WhatsApp, has fortified its mobile application with three new security features to protect the personal messages of its users.
In a statement made available to Business Post on Friday by Meta, its parent company, WhatsApp said the updates were made because it believes that “your messages should be as private and secure as an in-person conversation” as an “end-to-end encryption is the foundation of that security, and we’ll never stop building new features to give you extra layers of privacy, and more control over your messages.”
It was disclosed that the new features would be added to the app “in the coming months” as the latest will ensure that when switching their WhatsApp account to a new device, users may be asked “on your old device to verify that you want to take this step as an extra security check. This feature can help alert you to an unauthorized attempt to move your account to another device.”
Also, to prevent unauthorised use of user’s phone without permission and use of WhatsApp to send unwanted messages, “we have added checks to help authenticate your account – with no action needed from you – and better protect you if your device is compromised. This lets you continue using WhatsApp uninterrupted.”
“Our most security-conscious users have always been able to take advantage of our security code verification feature, which helps ensure you are chatting with the intended recipient. You can check this manually by going to the Encryption tab under a contact’s info.
“To make this process easier and more accessible to everyone, we’re rolling out a security feature based on a process called Key Transparency that allows you to automatically verify that you have a secure connection.
“What it means for you is that when you click on the encryption tab, you’ll be able to verify right away that your personal conversation is secured,” the messaging platform said.
Adedapo Adesanya