WhatsApp’s New Two-Step Verification: How to Keep Your Account Safe from Hackers

WhatsApp has just launched a new security system, two-step verification process, which will make it harder for hackers to access your account, especially your private messages. The new security system is an added protection that the company launched, just like most tech companies such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Twitter.

The new security feature is not enabled by default, particularly to those that already have an existing account. It needs to be activated and requires the owner to input a security password on top of their login password, according to Idropnews. And the first thing a user must do to use the new feature is to download the latest version of the app.

Once the app is updated, all the owner needs to go is go to Setting, head to Account and click the Two-step verification. Choose the enable option to be prompted for a 6 digit password. Upon completion, the owner will have to input two passwords every time they register a new gadget to their account, as reported in a post from Mashable. Remembering both passwords wouldn’t be a problem to the owner because the app will prompt the owner to input the passcode every once in a while.

As a backup security measure, the user also needs to input her email address that will be used if the owner forgets her passcode. It is very important not to skip this step because this is the only way the owner can easily retrieve her account when they forget their login password and passcode. Not completing this step will result in about 7 days of waiting before WhatsApp retrieve the account for the user. Moreover, all messages received within the 7 days will be lost.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps used in today’s time. It already has more than 1.2 billion users all around the world so making sure that all their user’s information and privacy are well-protected is a must.