• Latest
  • Trending
Yes, You Can Still Use WhatsApp—But Change These 3 Critical Settings First

Yes, You Can Still Use WhatsApp—But Change These 3 Critical Settings First

January 14, 2021
China asks India to ‘stop disturbing’ its exchange with Sri Lanka

The Yuan Wang 5 affair turns out to be a storm in a teacup

August 12, 2022
Electricity

Power cut schedule today in Sri Lanka: 13th August

August 12, 2022
Cracks can be seen on dried up bed of Tittesworth Reservoir, in Leek, Britain. (Photo: Reuters)

Drought declared in parts of England as severe heatwave grips UK

August 12, 2022
Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Gotabaya advised to remain indoors for security reasons at Bangkok hotel

August 12, 2022
Exchange Rate

Foreign Exchange Rates from Central Bank of Sri Lanka; USD, GBP, EUR, SGD, CAD

August 12, 2022
Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

August 12, 2022
Foreign currency

Indian companies swapping dollar for Asian currencies to buy Russian coal

August 12, 2022
FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Disney overtakes Netflix in race for subscribers

August 12, 2022
PNS Taimur

Pakistani warship arrives at Colombo Port

August 12, 2022
Notice for vehicle owners in Western Province

Notice for vehicle owners in Western Province

August 12, 2022
Billionaire Lee Jae-yong

Billionaire Samsung Boss gets Presidential Pardon in South Korea

August 12, 2022
In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers

In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers

August 12, 2022
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, August 13, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    China asks India to ‘stop disturbing’ its exchange with Sri Lanka

    The Yuan Wang 5 affair turns out to be a storm in a teacup

    Electricity

    Power cut schedule today in Sri Lanka: 13th August

    Gotabaya Rajapaksa

    Gotabaya advised to remain indoors for security reasons at Bangkok hotel

    Exchange Rate

    Foreign Exchange Rates from Central Bank of Sri Lanka; USD, GBP, EUR, SGD, CAD

    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Foreign currency

    Indian companies swapping dollar for Asian currencies to buy Russian coal

    PNS Taimur

    Pakistani warship arrives at Colombo Port

    Notice for vehicle owners in Western Province

    Notice for vehicle owners in Western Province

    In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers

    In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    China asks India to ‘stop disturbing’ its exchange with Sri Lanka

    The Yuan Wang 5 affair turns out to be a storm in a teacup

    Cracks can be seen on dried up bed of Tittesworth Reservoir, in Leek, Britain. (Photo: Reuters)

    Drought declared in parts of England as severe heatwave grips UK

    Foreign currency

    Indian companies swapping dollar for Asian currencies to buy Russian coal

    FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

    Disney overtakes Netflix in race for subscribers

    Billionaire Lee Jae-yong

    Billionaire Samsung Boss gets Presidential Pardon in South Korea

    Mask. Image credits - Vera Davidova / Unsplash

    As Covid cases surge, Delhi govt reintroduces Rs 500 fine for not wearing masks

    Bank of Thailand

    Thailand hikes rate for first time since 2018 to tame hot inflation

    Image: WhatsApp

    WhatsApp’s new update makes it easier to avoid your friends

    Tik Tok

    The top TikTok trends to try this week

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Marvel has unleashed the first look teaser of Black Panther 2.

    Black Panther Wakanda Forever: Marvel pays emotional tribute to Chadwick Boseman

    Stranger Things

    Netflix confirms ‘Stranger Things’ spinoff and play

    Kamal Haasan's Vikram is on a rampage.

    Kamal Haasan’s Vikram is the highest-grossing film in Singapore, UK and UAE

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ celebrates 25 magical years

    Salman Khan

    Plot to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan revealed

    Shah Rukh Khan's Jawaan, to be directed by Atlee, to scheduled for June 2023 release. (Photo: Twitter)

    Shah Rukh Khan announces new film ‘Jawaan’

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Cheeseburger. Image credits - Alamy / BBC

    McDonald’s puts up price of cheeseburger for first time in 14 years

    WHO declares rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    WHO declares rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    Sushmita Sen. Image credits - Getty Images

    Sushmita Sen: Why ‘gold digger’ jibe caused outrage

    Honey. Image credits - Mariana Ibanez / Unsplash

    7 unique health benefits of honey

    alcohol

    Alcohol is never healthy for people under 40, study finds

    world’s happiest countries in 2022

    List of world’s happiest countries in 2022

    Emirates

    Emirates statement on operations at London Heathrow

    The main aim of the team is to enable them to collect microplastics in deeper water and provide information to analyse marine pollution in real time. (File Pic)

    Chinese scientists develop robot fish that gobble up microplastics

    Bicycle. Image credits - Febiyan @febiyanr / Unsplash

    10 essential biking rules every cyclist should know

    Luggage. Image credits - Caroline Selfors @cselfors / Unsplash

    London’s Heathrow tells airlines to stop ticket sales as it caps passengers

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

    Disney overtakes Netflix in race for subscribers

    Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 phones on Aug 10, 2022. (Photo: Samsung)

    5 things to know about Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 foldable smartphones

    Image: WhatsApp

    WhatsApp’s new update makes it easier to avoid your friends

    Snapchat. Image credits - May Gauthier @maygauthier / Unsplash

    Snap launches tools for parents to monitor teens’ contacts

    FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Google logo is seen in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    Thousands of users around the world report Google outage

    After buying Twitter, Elon Musk has now said he will buy Coca-Cola to put the 'cocaine' back in.

    Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of satellites?

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    China asks India to ‘stop disturbing’ its exchange with Sri Lanka

    The Yuan Wang 5 affair turns out to be a storm in a teacup

    Electricity

    Power cut schedule today in Sri Lanka: 13th August

    Gotabaya Rajapaksa

    Gotabaya advised to remain indoors for security reasons at Bangkok hotel

    Exchange Rate

    Foreign Exchange Rates from Central Bank of Sri Lanka; USD, GBP, EUR, SGD, CAD

    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Foreign currency

    Indian companies swapping dollar for Asian currencies to buy Russian coal

    PNS Taimur

    Pakistani warship arrives at Colombo Port

    Notice for vehicle owners in Western Province

    Notice for vehicle owners in Western Province

    In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers

    In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    China asks India to ‘stop disturbing’ its exchange with Sri Lanka

    The Yuan Wang 5 affair turns out to be a storm in a teacup

    Cracks can be seen on dried up bed of Tittesworth Reservoir, in Leek, Britain. (Photo: Reuters)

    Drought declared in parts of England as severe heatwave grips UK

    Foreign currency

    Indian companies swapping dollar for Asian currencies to buy Russian coal

    FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

    Disney overtakes Netflix in race for subscribers

    Billionaire Lee Jae-yong

    Billionaire Samsung Boss gets Presidential Pardon in South Korea

    Mask. Image credits - Vera Davidova / Unsplash

    As Covid cases surge, Delhi govt reintroduces Rs 500 fine for not wearing masks

    Bank of Thailand

    Thailand hikes rate for first time since 2018 to tame hot inflation

    Image: WhatsApp

    WhatsApp’s new update makes it easier to avoid your friends

    Tik Tok

    The top TikTok trends to try this week

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Books
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Raksha Bandhan to Laal Singh Chaddha: ‘Struggling’ Bollywood’s online hate problem

    Marvel has unleashed the first look teaser of Black Panther 2.

    Black Panther Wakanda Forever: Marvel pays emotional tribute to Chadwick Boseman

    Stranger Things

    Netflix confirms ‘Stranger Things’ spinoff and play

    Kamal Haasan's Vikram is on a rampage.

    Kamal Haasan’s Vikram is the highest-grossing film in Singapore, UK and UAE

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ celebrates 25 magical years

    Salman Khan

    Plot to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan revealed

    Shah Rukh Khan's Jawaan, to be directed by Atlee, to scheduled for June 2023 release. (Photo: Twitter)

    Shah Rukh Khan announces new film ‘Jawaan’

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Chchutir diner Gaan by Bangladeshi singer Nondita

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

    Song “Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar”. Talat Mahmood. Film “Yasmin” 1955

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Cheeseburger. Image credits - Alamy / BBC

    McDonald’s puts up price of cheeseburger for first time in 14 years

    WHO declares rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    WHO declares rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    Sushmita Sen. Image credits - Getty Images

    Sushmita Sen: Why ‘gold digger’ jibe caused outrage

    Honey. Image credits - Mariana Ibanez / Unsplash

    7 unique health benefits of honey

    alcohol

    Alcohol is never healthy for people under 40, study finds

    world’s happiest countries in 2022

    List of world’s happiest countries in 2022

    Emirates

    Emirates statement on operations at London Heathrow

    The main aim of the team is to enable them to collect microplastics in deeper water and provide information to analyse marine pollution in real time. (File Pic)

    Chinese scientists develop robot fish that gobble up microplastics

    Bicycle. Image credits - Febiyan @febiyanr / Unsplash

    10 essential biking rules every cyclist should know

    Luggage. Image credits - Caroline Selfors @cselfors / Unsplash

    London’s Heathrow tells airlines to stop ticket sales as it caps passengers

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

    Disney overtakes Netflix in race for subscribers

    Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 phones on Aug 10, 2022. (Photo: Samsung)

    5 things to know about Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 foldable smartphones

    Image: WhatsApp

    WhatsApp’s new update makes it easier to avoid your friends

    Snapchat. Image credits - May Gauthier @maygauthier / Unsplash

    Snap launches tools for parents to monitor teens’ contacts

    FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Google logo is seen in this illustration taken April 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

    Thousands of users around the world report Google outage

    After buying Twitter, Elon Musk has now said he will buy Coca-Cola to put the 'cocaine' back in.

    Starlink: Why is Elon Musk launching thousands of satellites?

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Videos
NewsIn.Asia
No Result
View All Result
Home Around The World

Yes, You Can Still Use WhatsApp—But Change These 3 Critical Settings First

Editor by Editor
January 14, 2021
in Around The World, Tech
Reading Time: 5 mins read
41 2
A A
Yes, You Can Still Use WhatsApp—But Change These 3 Critical Settings First

Whatsapp forces users to agree to share private data including phone number with Facebook. Image - Getty

43
SHARES
Share on WhatsApp

January 14 (Forbes) – If you’re a WhatsApp user, you will have seen the alarming stories warning about the messaging platform’s surprise privacy changes, many suggesting you switch to alternatives. The good news is you don’t need to do that—WhatsApp is still okay to use. The bad news, though, is that you do need to change these critical setting to stay safe.

WhatsApp is changing. The messaging platform has now confirmed changes first announced in October, that open up further data sharing with Facebook. This last week has been the toughest for WhatsApp since the damaging spyware revelations in 2019. The idea that the world’s largest private messenger will share data with the world’s most ruthless data machine has prompted a backlash. Installs of rival messengers are soaring, up hundreds of per cent in the last few days.

Time for some perspective. Your most private and sensitive data on WhatsApp, your messages, will remain private to you and the people you communicate with; messages are end-to-end encrypted as they’re sent—only you and the other side of each message can decrypt its content. Even WhatsApp has no means of accessing content in transit, while the messages on your phone are protected by the security of your device.

ADVERTISEMENT

The issue is metadata—the who, when and where around your messages, as well as your contacts and information about your device. WhatsApp does collect too much data, much more than the likes of Signal, Telegram and iMessage. But when compared to apps like Facebook, Messenger, Google, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, it collects very little. So, unless you avoid those others, WhatsApp isn’t your biggest problem.

First, you need to stop malicious content sent to you on WhatsApp from infecting your phone with malware by avoiding links and unknown attachments. You also need to disable the option to autosave images to your phone’s photo album or gallery. Image files can be crafted with embedded threats, and in a world of virally shared content, you don’t want to give all these unknown files access to your phone.

Do not autosave images to your phone
Do not autosave images to your phone
 
WHATSAPP/IOS

Much more importantly, there are two further settings that really do put your privacy at risk and which you should change. Unlike the new terms of service change, these also put your actual message content at risk.

Your biggest risk on WhatsApp is getting your account hijacked—this is an ongoing scourge that impacts a frightening number of people every week. And although an attacker taking over your account will not have access to your past message history, they will receive all messages sent to you while they control your account, and they will see your contacts in each of your groups and in any new messages received. 

The hack works by tricking you into sharing the SMS message WhatsApp sends you when you activate your account on a new phone. They install WhatsApp and enter your phone number on their device. You then get a text with a six-digit code and they use the already hijacked account of one of your friends to message you and ask for the code, which they say was meant for them. As soon as you do, you lose your account.

Setting 2FA PIN
Setting 2FA PIN WHATSAPP/IOS

You will get your account back—but it will take time. And if the attacker adds extra security to your account, security you should have added yourself, then you can be without WhatsApp for a week or longer. This risk is easy to prevent. All you need to do is add a PIN number in your app. Without this, an attacker can’t hijack your account, even if they get hold of that SMS code. It’s setting this PIN themselves, if you haven’t done so, that allows an attacker to make it more difficult for you to restore WhatsApp.

And finally, we come to the biggest hole in WhatsApp’s privacy—backups. While your messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted as they’re sent, and protected by phone security when they’re received or saved, if you use WhatsApp’s option to back up your chat history to either Apple’s or Google’s cloud, then those backups are not protected by that end-to-end encryption. There are no serious claims that your content is analyzed or datamined in the cloud, but it can be accessed by Apple or Google, invalidating the purpose of WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption.

Cloud Backups
Cloud Backups WHATSAPP/IOS

I have hesitated to recommend disabling these back-ups, given the risk that a lost phone means a lost chat history. But given the clamor for Signal, which does not offer cloud backups given the risks, the time is probably right to disable these now. The hope is that when WhatsApp launches its long-delayed multi-device option, you will have a backup for a lost device by turning to your other devices. This is how iMessage works, where a central, encrypted message store can be accessed by trusted devices. 

And so, keep using WhatsApp—at least for the time being. As the platform explains in a new FAQ, published in response to the backlash it prompted with the forced change in terms, this is all about business services, helping companies use WhatsApp to message you and sell to you, and link back to Facebook as they do so. This is the real change that WhatsApp is making—commercializing the platform.

There’s a much bigger problem, though, lurking in the near future, much worse than anything that has just happened. Facebook is midway through a program to integrate WhatsApp’s underlying platform with those of Messenger and Instagram. The idea is to create a vast, interoperable messaging giant that brings all its audiences together.

At a technical level, the challenge is to bring Messenger and Instagram, which have already part integrated, together with WhatsApp, which is the only one of the three with default end-to-end encryption. Facebook has talked in the past about extending privacy and security to this larger user base. But taken with WhatsApp’s commercial evolution, it looks much more like this integration will take a different direction.

WhatsApp Vs Messenger Vs Instagram
WhatsApp Vs Messenger Vs Instagram APPLE APP STORE ‘PRIVACY LABELS’

You just need to take a look at WhatsApp’s data privacy label compared to the other two to see the scale of the problem. The stark reality is this integration could mean a much more serious to your privacy than we’ve just seen. So, yes, you can still use WhatsApp—but in the future that advice might change.

Tags: ChangeSettingsWhatsapp

Related Posts

Cracks can be seen on dried up bed of Tittesworth Reservoir, in Leek, Britain. (Photo: Reuters)
Around The World

Drought declared in parts of England as severe heatwave grips UK

August 12, 2022
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Around The World

Gotabaya advised to remain indoors for security reasons at Bangkok hotel

August 12, 2022
FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Around The World

Disney overtakes Netflix in race for subscribers

August 12, 2022
In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers
Around South Asia

In the 19 th.century, Indians needed written permission to sit in front of British officers

August 12, 2022
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Around South Asia

First pictures of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as he lands in Thailand

August 11, 2022
Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 phones on Aug 10, 2022. (Photo: Samsung)
Around The World

5 things to know about Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 foldable smartphones

August 11, 2022
  • Electricity

    Power cut schedule today in Sri Lanka: 13th August

    49043 shares
    Share 19630 Tweet 12255
  • Registration open for National Fuel Pass

    6544 shares
    Share 2655 Tweet 1621
  • Foreign Exchange Rates from Central Bank of Sri Lanka; USD, GBP, EUR, SGD, CAD

    1368 shares
    Share 554 Tweet 339
  • WATCH : Yohani’s first live performance in India

    785 shares
    Share 327 Tweet 191
  • Power interruption schedule released: Check your area power cut time

    734 shares
    Share 312 Tweet 176
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2022 All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
  • Around The World
  • Breaking News
  • Business
    • Exchange
  • Climate Change
  • Governance
    • Crime
    • Diplomacy
    • Defense
    • Human Rights
    • Politics
    • Strategic Affairs
  • Lifestyle
    • Books
    • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Cinema
      • Gaming
      • Music
      • Movie
      • Series
      • TV
    • Health
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
  • Culture
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender
  • Development news
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Coronavirus
  • History
  • National
  • Offbeat
    • Media
    • Music and arts across South Asia
  • Recommended
    • Headlines
    • Highlights
    • Top Picture
    • Top Story
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Cricket
      • LPL
      • IPL
    • Tennis
    • Formula 1
    • NBA
  • Tech
    • Instagram
  • United Nations
  • Weather
  • World
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
  • Videos

© 2022 All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

mersin eskort -

Meritroyalbet

-
Jojobet
- Süperbetin - eskisehir escort -

https://www.vudols.com/

- Sağlık Personeli - istanbul avukat