The changes are designed to reduce the risk of being hacked, scammed, or monitored.
The popular messaging app WhatsApp got a range of new security features Tuesday with the launch of “Strict Account Settings.” The security changes, which must be turned on, allow the app to block files and attachments from unknown senders, disable link previews, and silence calls from unknown callers.
The goal is to reduce the risk of users being hacked, scammed, or monitored. According to WhatsApp, the features are aimed particularly at vulnerable users such as activists and journalists.
Apple and Google have already added similar security features to iOS and Android, respectively, according to Reuters.
Just last month, a security firm in Czechia warned WhatsApp users of a simple way hackers could access a user’s conversations in real time by manipulating the app’s device pairing or linking routine.
