Messaging behemoth, WhatsApp has introduced a new user safety campaign that gives users control over their online safety and promotes safer chatting. The three-month long campaign’s primary focus is to impart all the knowledge pertaining to the Meta-owned app’s in-built safety features that users can leverage to protect themselves from online scams, frauds and account-compromising risks.
Shivnath Thukral, director, Public Policy India stressed on the importance of user safety at WhatsApp and highlighted it as the major reason behind launching the “Stay Safe with WhatsApp” campaign endeavouring to drive awareness surrounding WhatsApp’s safety features and products that can equip users with the info needed to keep scams at bay.
In the process of advocating and implementing user safety, WhatsApp has continually added layers of security and protection through the years enabling users to keep their privacy intact.
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The campaign will nudge people to prioritize safety in a digital-first world alongside adopting habits that ascertain safety stands at the forefront, staving off online frauds and keeping people safe, added Thukral.
The Primary safety features of the “Stay Safe with WhatsApp” campaign are as follows:
- The two-step verification feature will allow users to add an extra security layer to their account. While resetting and validating the WhatsApp account, a six-digit PIN must be entered. This is particularly useful in instances when the phone is compromised or a SIM card is taken.
- Users of WhatsApp occasionally receive problematic messages from unidentified numbers that may contain dubious links or requests for access to personal information, among other things. WhatsApp users can safeguard themselves by blocking and reporting those accounts.
- The “Privacy Settings” on WhatsApp enable users to control their personal information like profile image, last seen and online status, about information, status, and who can view it. Users can also manage their online presence by deciding who can and can’t view them online.
- Users also have the option to control who can add them to WhatsApp groups, which increases their privacy and stops people from adding them to groups they do not want to be a part of. Users also have the option to leave the group secretly, without notifying other group members.
46 lakh Indian accounts were deactivated and banned by WhatsApp following user complaints about rule violations. Most of them were spam accounts and the takedown occurred on an automated basis. WhatsApp categorises a particular account as spam when it messages tens of thousands of people who are not on its contact list. Two methods are be used to eliminate impersonation. When someone reports a number and WhatsApp checks if there is a violation, then it falls under the “violation of terms of service” category.
