WhatsApp announced that it has improved the account recovery process to increase the security of its 2 billion users.

Scammers have exploited WhatsApp's two-factor authentication (2FA) in the past by tricking users into accidentally sending them the six-digit code required to recover their account. This scam was particularly successful because many users did not immediately recognize the scam.

WhatsApp changes the recovery process

To prevent this, WhatsApp has now changed the recovery process so that the six-digit code is no longer enough to recover an account. Instead, users will now have to verify their phone number by answering a call from an automated system. The system will provide the user with a code that they must enter to complete the recovery process.

This new feature is enabled by default and is intended to help ensure fewer accounts are hijacked by fraudsters. However, WhatsApp still recommends users to enable two-factor authentication to increase the security of their accounts.

While this change represents a significant improvement in security, it is important to continue to be vigilant. WhatsApp advises users not to share six-digit codes with others and to report suspicious messages or calls.

Conclusion: WhatsApp has improved the account recovery process to make it harder for fraudsters to steal user accounts. By introducing an automated call to verify the phone number and recommending enabling two-factor authentication, the company is increasing security for its users.

WhatsApp itself writes:


New security features: Account protection, device verification, automatic security codes

At WhatsApp, we firmly believe that your messages should be as private and secure as face-to-face conversations. The basis for this security and the protection of your personal messages is standard end-to-end encryption. We're constantly working on developing new features to give more privacy

A lot of this process happens behind the scenes without you having to do anything. Today we're excited to announce some additional security features we'll be rolling out in the coming months.

WhatsApp makes it harder for scammers to steal your account
WhatsApp makes it harder for scammers to steal your account

Account protection: If you want to transfer your WhatsApp account to another device, we'll check if it's really you. From now on, users will be asked to confirm on their old device that they want to complete this step as an additional security check. This feature can alert you if someone tries to move your account to another device.

Device Verification: Mobile malware is one of the top threats to people's security and privacy today. It makes it possible for your phone to be exploited without your permission and WhatsApp to be used to send unwanted messages. To prevent this, we have now integrated checking functions. They help authenticate your account without you having to do anything. They also protect you better if your device is hacked. This means you can continue using WhatsApp without interruption. You can read more technical details here .*

Automatic security codes: Particularly security-conscious users have already been able to use our security number verification . With this feature you can make sure you are chatting with the person you want. You can check this manually by selecting Encryption on the Contact Info screen. To make this process even easier and more accessible for everyone, there is now a new security feature. It is based on a process called “key transparency”. You can use it to automatically check whether your connection is secure. What this means for you is that you can check directly whether your personal conversation is secure by clicking on the “Encryption” tab. You can find further technical background information here .*

These are three more ways we help you protect your account. There are many things we can do to improve security for everyone, but there are two features that only you can enable: two-step verification and end-to-end encrypted backups . If you already know and use both features, you should definitely inform your friends about them so that even more people can benefit from these additional security measures.

We hope our users realize the potential of these features to improve security and we look forward to announcing further updates soon.

Source: Meta / How Device Verification protects your WhatsApp account

Also read: Security settings for WhatsApp


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Notes:
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