Kinyarwanda version

Every day WhatsApp is used to share huge amounts of information, much of which is personal or sensitive, and therefore valuable to malicious actors.

Adopt these best practices to be secure when using the application.

1. Enable Two-Step Verification

Two-Step Verification adds an additional layer of security to accessing your WhatsApp account. Enabling this feature means any attempt to verify your phone number must be accompanied by a six-digit PIN, making your account more secure. PINs should not be six consecutive digits or based on personal information such as a birthday.

To enable Two-Step Verification:

1. Open WhatsApp settings and select Account

2. Choose Two-Step Verification Menu

3. Tap Enable and create a unique six-digit passcode

4. Enter an email address for code recovery

2. Never share your registration code or Two-Step verification PIN with others

You should never share your WhatsApp SMS verification code with others. If someone is trying to take over your account, they need the SMS verification code sent to your phone number to do so. Your Two-Step verification PIN should also only be known by you and never shared to prevent unauthorized access.

3. Open your WhatsApp Application with a fingerprint or Face ID

Safeguard your WhatsApp application with biometric information such as a fingerprint or face ID. This setting will automatically lock WhatsApp after a time period of your choice and therefore help prevent someone who picks up your phone from accessing your chats.

To lock WhatsApp with biometric information on Android:

1. Choose Settings

2. Click on Privacy

3. Tap on the Fingerprint Lock

4. Check Unlock with fingerprint and set your time for automatic lock

How to lock WhatsApp with biometric information on iPhone:

1. Choose Settings

2. Select Account

3. Choose Privacy

4. Scroll down and tap Screen Lock

5. Turn on Require Face ID or Touch ID

4. Disable message previews

By default, WhatsApp displays a brief preview of messages on the lock screen of your phone. With this setting on, a malicious actor could see who you are in contact with and some of the contents of the message.

To switch off message previews on iPhone:

1. Choose Settings

2. Choose Notifications

3. Disable the Show Preview switch

To switch off message previews on Android:

1. Go to your phone Settings

2. Choose Notifications

3. Under chats section uncheck Show Notifications

5. Turn security notifications on

WhatsApp use unique security codes to verify that the calls and messages you send to a chat are end-to-end encrypted. These codes can be found in the contact info screen under encryption.

At times the security codes used in end-to-end encrypted chats may change due to your contact reinstalling WhatsApp, changing phones, or adding or removing a paired device. Turning on security notifications means you will receive a notification every time a new security code is generated, giving you guarantee the chat is encrypted.

To enable security notifications on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings

2. Choose Account

3. Choose Security notifications

4. Tap on Show security notification

To enable security notifications on Android:

1. Tap the three-dot menu at the top right of the screen

2. Choose Settings

3. Choose Account

4. Choose Security notifications

5. Tap on Show security notifications on this device