The story of WhatsApp is every entrepreneurs dream scenario. CEO Jan Koum and Brian Acton, both formerly of Yahoo, founded WhatsApp in 2009 and never in their wildest dreams imagined how popular their service would become in a matter of months. WhatsApp is nothing but glorified text messaging, but its popularity and widespread usage cannot be discounted. Almost every functional smartphone today has a version of WhatsApp installed on it.
In April 2014, the number of WhatsApp users crossed 450 million, and they cumulatively shared 700 million photos and 10 billion messages every single day. All this without a mention of Facebook’s massive $19 billion takeover of WhatsApp in February 2014. Today, WhatsApp is one of the handful of services that define the tech industry and work towards changing the way our generation connects with each other.
Interestingly, WhatsApp’s largest user base resides in India and amounts to more than 50 million active users. With this in mind, we would like to post some security tips and advice for our Quick Heal readers, and inform them about some steps they can take to protect their privacy over WhatsApp.
Safety tips to follow while using WhatsApp
Tips for privacy settings over WhatsApp
While the aforementioned tips are useful for generic purposes, there are some steps you can take to protect your privacy over WhatsApp. Usually, messages can be received from anyone so this is a major loophole in the app. However, this is something that is a salient feature of the app, do not expect this to be disabled anytime soon. Nevertheless, you can take these steps to safeguard your privacy over WhatsApp.
# Step 1 – Go to Settings and click on Account.
# Step 2 – Now click on Privacy.
# Step 3 – Over here you can view and change settings for Last Seen, Profile Photo and Status. It is advisable that for all these 3 options, you select My Contacts.
Unfortunately, blocking all messages from unknown numbers is not possible over WhatsApp. However, if you have received a message from an unknown number and wish to receive no more messages from that number, you can open that particular chat window and block the contact from there.
With these small privacy tips for WhatsApp in mind, you can definitely ensure that your usage over this app is as secure as possible. Additionally, by installing an award winning solution like Quick Heal Total Security on your device, you can also ensure that your smartphone remains protected against all kinds of mobile security threats. Stay safe!
Sir i have doubt regarding this.
is there need to worry if any app is taking your location?
Hi Harshal,
There are some apps that do require your location as per the permissions that they ask for upon installation. If the app is popular and trusted like WhatsApp, there is no need to worry.
Thanks.
popular apps are not a problem for that
Hello Rahul, the settings you had shown is for android phones. So what about Windows phones?.
Regards,Siraj.
Hi Siraj,
Unfortunately, these settings are only available to WhatsApp users on iOS and Android for now. This has been in the pipeline for Windows Phone for a while now, but we believe it hasn’t been implemented yet. We hope that they enable these settings for Windows Phone soon too, but we can only wait and watch.
Best regards.
where the privacy settings in windows phone installed whatsapp
Hi Abhisekh,
Unfortunately, these settings are only available to WhatsApp users on iOS and Android for now. This has been in the pipeline for Windows Phone for a while now, but we believe it hasn’t been implemented yet. We hope that they enable these settings for Windows Phone soon too, but we can only wait and watch.
Best regards.
Nice and informative. Thanks.
Sir i have doubt regarding this.
is there any problem if i delete the mobile numbers of friends.
Hi Vishal,
If you delete a number from your contacts list, then that number will not be visible on your WhatsApp contact list.
Thanks.
Hi Rahul
Mara Sellphon ma No. Add Karelo Se Ane Te No. Mare Whatsapp Ma Block Karvo Se To Kai Rite Kari Sakay
Please Reply Me.
Thanks
Hi Mehul,
To block a contact on WhatsApp, you need to open the WhatsApp application. Then you need to locate the contact that you want to block and go to Settings and More and then Block. This will block the contact from your WhatsApp list.
Thanks.
This is really nice. Thanks for the information quick heal moderators 🙂
Thanks for knowledge sharing.
regards
p.k.pandey
hi
if you dont need than dont use its not good for piece of mind
nice very much useful.
awsome
thanks
Dear Rahul,
I own a Nokia Lumnia-510 handset and there is no such PRIVACY option in the settings where I can personalize my profile. Please help Windows based phone users in this regard.
Hi Siddharth,
Unfortunately, these settings are only available to WhatsApp users on iOS and Android for now. This has been in the pipeline for Windows Phone for a while now, but we believe it hasn’t been implemented yet. We hope that they enable these settings for Windows Phone soon too, but we can only wait and watch.
Best regards.
i’m using Nokia Lumia 520. here settings totally different. here is no privacy settings. so can you give me some tips?
Hi Samy,
Unfortunately, these settings are only available to WhatsApp users on iOS and Android for now. This has been in the pipeline for Windows Phone for a while now, but we believe it hasn’t been implemented yet. We hope that they enable these settings for Windows Phone soon too, but we can only wait and watch.
Best regards.
my whatsapp is ok now jai hind
Hi Rahul,
i would like to point out that most users forward messages & posts they find interesting without really thinking much about it or having any malafide intention. To that extent, the tips pertaining to ‘strangers or unknown numbers’… would be valid for known numbers too.
I see a lot of people using free public wifi networks on mobile devices.. they use these devices for financial & other (email etc) transactions – both on such networks & off them. in many cases the username/password combinations are ‘saved’ and not required to be punched in.
I’d like u to do a piece on the subject.
I recently sending my family v.clips but sent result not clear and dots shadows etc.in sent clip. Prior time sending clips were very clear. How can this problem solve ? Pl.help and oblige
Hi Madhusudan,
This may have happened due to some issue with the mobile network or Internet network, depending on which medium you sent the video clips through.
Best regards.
I see a lot of people using free public wifi networks on mobile devices.. they use these devices for financial & other (email etc) transactions – both on such networks & off them. in many cases the username/password combinations are ‘saved’ and not required to be punched in.
I’d like u to do a piece on the subject.
Hi Rupesh,
Carrying out such transactions on free Wi-Fi is certainly not advisable. Thank you for your suggestion and we will be doing a piece on this soon.
Best regards.
very informative and useful……….
sir
i want to know that can i see the deleted chats on whats app.waiting for your reply.
Hello,
Sorry but it is not possible to see the chats that have once been deleted on WhatsApp.
Regards.
Hi Rahul,
Its very useful information and keep up to date with these security tips.
Hi harsal
Why don’t you give us the way to get full version of it free,cause many of us don’t have virtual money to buy the full app.we are just using free trail virsion.please show us a way to get this app totally free.thanks
i have a question to ask…the info about setting u have given above….according to me it is only in a android phone..m using a windows phone ..if i go to setting there is no privacy setting kind a stuff…i am using nokia lumia 520. do u have any solution for this
if yes please let me know
Hi Lokendra,
Unfortunately, these settings are only available to WhatsApp users on iOS and Android for now. This has been in the pipeline for Windows Phone for a while now, but we believe it hasn’t been implemented yet. We hope that they enable these settings for Windows Phone soon too, but we can only wait and watch.
Best regards.
I think windows mobile has not these settings.
Awesome. Thanks.
Thanks a lot
sir I eant to give passwors to my whatsapp accoount then what should I do
Hi Akash,
WhatsApp itself does not provide that feature. However, you can download an application that locks apps and requires a password to access them. There are many such apps available on the official marketplaces.
Best regards.
is it safe to share private pics, data on whatsapp??
Hi Amit,
It is as safe as sharing pics and data on Facebook as WhatsApp is now owned by Facebook. So the comfort level you have depends only on you. Apart from that, if you are working on your mobile network’s data plan or a secured Wi-Fi connection at home or work, then it is safe to share info over WhatsApp.
Thanks.
Can you list some TRUSTED apps for locking the WhatsApp?
Hi Ashu,
One app that I can recommend and use personally is AppLock by DoMobile Lab. This has a large number of installs and favorable reviews as well.
Best regards.
is it possible to make out whether any contact has blocked the contact
Hi Aashish,
You cannot tell if a contact has blocked you or not. The message will not get delivered (it will only show a single tick) but this could also be because the contact is offline.
Regards.
Hi Rahul
Mey Computer mey whatsapp karna chatahu kya se karu
advance Thanking…
Hi Subhajit,
Unfortunately, WhatsApp is not available on PCs right now. You can use a substitute like Skype instead.
Best regards.
awsome and educational security tips….kudos to quick heal team….:)
Hi Rahul, I was going through your blog, after reading these last few lines- “Additionally, by installing an award winning solution like Quick Heal Total Security on your device, you can also ensure that your smartphone remains protected against all kinds of mobile security threats.” ; I could not help but comment here. I was using nokia 701 before, I made numerous request over the last year for QH to add that phone model in PC2Mobile scan list. All requests and efforts got wasted. Now I have switched to a windows phone.. I was wondering if QH will now launch… Read more »
Hello Arpit, Firstly, we apologize for the inconvenience you have faced by not having Quick Heal available for your Nokia device, and now your Windows Phone device. We appreciate that you have been suggesting to us that we cater to this market segment as well, but are apologetic for not being able to do so. To cater to all platforms is our ultimate aim, however, we also need to work out a feasible solution for the same. While I personally cannot comment on how soon this will happen, I am sure we will offer a solution for this platform sometime… Read more »
This app is very good.But how to secure our display pic without downloading to any one.Please could you tell me.
Hi Monisha,
One’s display pic on WhatsApp cannot be downloaded. However, a screenshot of the same can be taken. For more information on this, you can contact WhatsApp support >> https://www.whatsapp.com/contact/
Regards,
Thank u Sir for your kind information.But they could save it in their gallery right.How to prevent from it?please could you tell me Sir.
sir, i have some doubts about whatsapp plus.
this application, when downloaded, asks to uninstall original whatsapp.. though this app (whatsapp plus) gives all plus additional features as compared to the original whatapp, i have doubt over its authenticity.. is it original and authenticated by whatsapp publisher group? please advice.
Hi Aamod, WhatsApp Plus is a free version of WhatsApp that has been modified by an Android developer. There is no word from WhatsApp if this is legal. However, it is safe to assume that this version has not been released by the original developers. Though the app may be safe, it is not authentic. So we suggest that you do not use it. It does have additional features but these features can only be received by someone on the other end who also has WhatsApp Plus installed, so it is very limited. Moreover, you need to remove the original… Read more »
who else can view my data transferred on whatsapp except me and the user? i hav sent some private pics through whatsapp would it b safe?
Hi Rohan,
The data that you have sent someone cannot be viewed by anyone else except for you and the other party. So you need not worry.
Best regards.
Hi Rahul,
I received a message from an unknown number on WhatsApp starting with +315 and it showed a gift to download. I didn’t download but I sent a message asking who it was. I received a reply with some transaction id…. I’m worried about it. ..will it hack my bank account. … u have banking apps on ny fone. ..I’ve blocked that number and ran a security check on my fone…no suspicions arose from the security app. Any suggestions.
Hi Pankaj,
As long as you did not download anything from that link, you are fine and your data is safe. So you do not need to worry about this.
Best regards.
The primary objection I have with Whatsapp is anyone on your Contact List can See your DP & status. However, there are many people on our phonebook, whom we dont want to see those. For example, my doodhwala’s ph no. will also be on my phone. Some people might not want their boss to see. Some student dont want their principal to see. Is there any solution? Like On FB I can select who sees what..
Hi Chintan,
Unfortunately, it is not possible to do this. One option is to delete the numbers of people like your doodhwala and then make the DP and status visible only to your contacts. But if he is on your contacts list, then you make the DP and status visible to ‘Noone’. This is the only option.
Regards.
Dear sir,
After Changing The privacy setting After one day
i have recd msg..That Massages are corrupted..
How Was That happend pls reply.
Thanks
Dear Vijay,
We don’t believe this has anything to do with changing the privacy settings on your WhatsApp. Maybe you should try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. However, you will then lose all the messages and chats you have had so far.
Regards.
@Rahul Thadani SIR I don’t think enabling auto downloading in Whatsapp will harm in anyway. The reason is Whatsapp till date only supports MP3 audio Wav Audio And Video Files like MP4 3GP and FLV. No MP3 song whatever the source is can ever be attached with a virus file its impossible. Video Files can be attached with viruses but its a very cumbersome and time consuming process. Most viruses comes from downloading PDF ODF or MS WORD EXCEL Attachments and Whatsapp doesn’t support them so no there is no downloading. And now whatsapp is using DB.CRYPT7 ENCRYPTION which is… Read more »
sir i send my personal messages to my friend.so sir that message was read anybody.please sir tell me fast as fast
thank you.
This information is useless for me,b’cause I haven’t whatsapp.
Better make ” ABC Group” among your close friends as you are the admn. This is most suitable to communicate among friends and without any privacy impeachment.
Is their anyway through which i can totally block a contact on my cell phone, messaging and whatsapp all together. Actually their is a friend of mine which i would like to block because of some personal reasons. Now, we have lots of mutual friends. Sometimes our mutual friends come and check my phone and my whatsapp normally. They might see that i have blocked that particular contact.
I do not want to block that person through Whatsapp. Is their a different way of doing it?
Please help.
Hi Sam,
I believe all devices have a way of blocking contacts. You will need to check the official site and user guide of your particular device for more details about this. However, you can also make use of the Call & SMS blocking feature that is available on our products for Android smartphones. You can locate our products – Mobile Security or Total Security for Android over Google Play. Hope this helps.
Best regards.
hi,
i use whatsapp on my laptop through bluestack app.
is this app. is secure?
can i share my personal pics and videos on whatsapp? anyone can see or share or do misuse of my data shared on whatsapp?
Hi Mehul,
It is important to understand that WhatsApp Inc. has not released any official version of WhatsApp for PC. So, it is wise to assume that such third party applications may be a threat to your privacy and computer data.
Regards,
Hi. Good and very informative blog. I just wanna ask regarding the whatsapp contact in group chat. Usually when you are invited to join a group chat which there are unknown phone numbers, you may find there are some of the contacts whose names located over the right after their phone number. My son tried whatsapp plus and the installation put off this function. I’ ve already re installed the whatsapp but the problem did not resolved. This has become troublesome since my company use this particular program to add on new prospects for briefing and clarification and I cannot… Read more »
Hi Amed,
One possible solution for this is to clear the app cache for WhatsApp. This can be done through the Application Manager on your device. Alternatively, uninstalling WhatsApp and reinstalling it again might help. If this also does not work, we suggest you visit the WhatsApp site or Google Play page and drop this comment there. They would be able to assist you better.
Regards.
Hello.
Can we send a text message to single recipient within a group ?
Hi Imtiyaz,
You can send a text message to a single recipient, but not within the same group. You can send a message to that person as you would to any other WhatsApp contact.
Regards.
Hello sir
Sir I am about to.change my no on.what’s app my question is can anybody or unknown people see my new no after that?
Hi Nisha,
If you are changing your number on the same device, then your WhatsApp settings won’t change from before if you have not reinstalled the application. However, if it’s a new device, or if you have uninstalled and then reinstalled WhatsApp, then you will need to alter the settings so that unknown people do not see your number.
Regards.
Dear WhatsApp family,
My Suggestion is that there should be an option like profile visitors ..This Option will be more interesting .
Dear rahul
is it safe enough to send pics or videos which are completely personal ?
Hi John,
With popular Android apps, and even websites getting hacked, it is advisable to refrain from sending highly sensitive information including personal photos, passwords, financial details, confidential data, etc., over WhatsApp.
Regards,
i created a group with one friend from my contact list in whatsapp. so the group is exclusively for we two. However, a contact on that friend’s phone was able to know that we have created this group and the people in that group and also when the group was created. how is this possible?? may kindly answer please.
Hi Satya,
We don’t think this is possible. A third person who is not in the group cannot see such details about a group unless that information has been shared with him or unless he is in that group himself. If this were possible, you would be able to see all the groups of all your contacts. So this is not the case.
Regards.
Sirji,
1. When I send message in group, whether , every body in group will receive the message.
2. I am administrator of group if any body from group is sending message will it go to everybody in the group
Thanks
RAjendra
Hi Rajendra,
1. Yes, when you send a WhatsApp message in a group, everyone in that particular group receives that message.
2. Yes, even someone who is not an administrator in the group can send a message to everyone in that WhatsApp group.
Regards.
hi
one of ma friend told me that some of d photos he has sent to his friend later found in some obscene sites.what about the safety n privacy of pics sending tru watsapp.pls clarify
Hi Raj, WhatsApp’s Terms of Service states that “The contents of any delivered messages are not kept or retained by WhatsApp — the only records of the content of any delivered messages reside directly on the sender’s and recipient’s mobile devices (and which may be deleted at the user’s option).” You can read more about this here – https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/ So, while it may be safe to assume that your information on WhatsApp is safe, it is safer not to send intimate photos, and personal information like login id passwords, bank account details, credit/debit card details, etc., over any Internet platform.… Read more »