WhatsApp has launched a new enhanced security mode that, with a single switch, enables strict restrictions on «outside» contacts and reduces the risks of targeted attacks through messages and calls.
WhatsApp has launched a new enhanced security mode that, with a single switch, enables strict restrictions on «outside» contacts and reduces the risks of targeted attacks through messages and calls.
According to Engadget, the Strict Account Settings tool has appeared in the settings. This is not a separate «feature» like new encryption, but a set of rules that automatically activates several protective barriers. After enabling it, WhatsApp stops automatically accepting media and attachments from unknown senders, disables link previews in chats and removes «noise» from unwanted calls — the application mutes calls from numbers that are not in your contacts.
The company emphasizes that the new mode is not positioned as mandatory for everyone. Everyday correspondence is already protected by end-to-end encryption, but additional restrictions should be useful for those who may be the target of rare and complex attacks: journalists, activists, public figures, employees of organizations that work with sensitive information. The point is to «cut off» the most common vectors of initial contact: dangerous attachments, phishing links and intrusive calls through which attackers try to draw a person into interaction.
Strict Account Settings will roll out globally in the coming weeks. Engadget writes that you can find the switch in the Privacy section of the messenger’s settings.
WhatsApp isn’t the first service to add a «strict mode» for high-risk users. Apple launched Lockdown Mode in 2022, and Android introduced Advanced Protection Mode last year. Both approaches also reduce usability in favor of maximum protection against targeted attacks.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Meta Corporation is being sued over claims that its employees can allegedly access WhatsApp users' messages, despite end-to-end encryption.
