International Women's Day: 5 Safety Tips On WhatsApp For Female Against Online Abuse

New Delhi: Among end-to-end encrypted messaging services, WhatsApp is at the forefront with over 400 million Indians using the app to stay connected with their friends and family. Over the years the platform has launched numerous innovative features, including securing all messages with default end-to-end encryption, that try to ensure privacy is protected at all times. Keeping in line with this year’s theme for International Women’s Day, ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’, which will be marked on March 8, here are WhatsApp’s top privacy features that help build a private, safe and inclusive messaging experience for everyone, especially women in today’s digitally connected world.

Choose who you talk to

WhatsApp is a private and safe space for people to communicate with their loved ones and people who have your phone number. However, at times when users receive problematic messages from unknown numbers, WhatsApp provides a simple way for users to ‘block and report’ the account to WhatsApp. Blocked contacts or numbers will no longer be able to call you or send you messages.

More control over the privacy of your messages

With end-to-end encryption built into WhatsApp, your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, status updates and calls are secure. It’s understandable that users want more control and privacy over their conversations and for that the platform has multiple features like disappearing messages that vanish within twenty-four hours, seven days or ninety days after the time they are sent, depending on the duration you select or view once to share photos and videos without leaving a permanent digital record. Users can also enable screenshot blocking for view once messages for an added layer of protection just to be on the safe side.

Group privacy settings to ensure a safe messaging experience

WhatsApp’s privacy setting and group invite system allow users to decide who can add them to groups, increasing user privacy and preventing people from adding a user to groups that they don’t want to be a part of. If you find yourself in a group chat that’s not for you, you can choose to exit a group privately without having to notify everyone.

Always be in control of your online information

On WhatsApp, users can control their personal details such as – Profile Photo, Last Seen, Online status, About, Status, and who sees it by selecting who gets access to their online information – everyone, contacts only, select contacts, or no one. You can also control your online presence by selecting who can and can’t see when you’re online, for the times you want to check WhatsApp privately.

Safeguard your account privacy

WhatsApp allows users to add an extra layer of security to their account by enabling the Two-Step Verification feature, which requires a six-digit PIN when resetting and verifying your WhatsApp account. This is helpful in case a SIM card gets stolen or if the phone is compromised.