7 tips to keep your WhatsApp chats private and safe

INDIATODAY.IN

LAST UPDATED: FEB 02, 2015

NEW DELHI

WhatsApp is probably one of the most used apps on any smartphone. And for right reasons. It is a pretty great communication tool. It is simple to use and it works well, even with relatively slower connections. Whether you are looking to text someone or want to send an image from your holiday to a group of friends, you are likely to pick up WhatsApp.

But at the same, just like any other app or a web-based tool, WhatsApp can also leak your private data if you are not careful. Now ESET, a company that offers security solutions including pretty nifty anti-virus apps for smartphones as well as computers, has come out with a few tech tips.

The company says that every WhatsApp user should use following tips to keep his or her WhatsApp chats safe and secure. We mostly agree...

Lock WhatsApp

One of the best WhatsApp security tips is to protect the app with a password or PIN. WhatsApp itself doesn't offer such a function, but there are third-party apps that do. It might seem cumbersome but if you lose your phone, it's going to prevent anyone else accessing your chats.

Block WhatsApp photos from appearing in photo roll

It's fair to assume that your WhatsApp conversations might occasionally take on a distinctly 'personal' note. If you're sharing images with your significant other, the last thing you want is for those images to appear in your general photostream, popping up when you let a friend swipe through your holiday snaps.

On iPhone, it's easy to fix: Go into your phone's Settings menu, then 'Privacy', 'Photos', and deselect WhatsApp from the list of apps whose images are fed into the photostream.

Android users will have to get under the hood a little bit. Using a file explorer app like ES File Explorer, find WhatsApp's 'Images' and 'Videos' folders. Create a file within each called '.nomedia'. That will stop Android's Gallery from scanning the folder.

Secondly, if you exclude WhatsApp images from your photoroll, and lock the app as above, it provides another layer of security if your phone is stolen or hacked into - but it won't be a 100 per cent bulletproof solution.

Hide 'last seen' timestamp

Not sure if you want people to know when you're going on and offline? It may not seem like vital information, but if a scammer already knows some other things about you, adding that last piece of contextual information could prove useful to them - whether you're awake or not; at home or overseas; coming out of the cinema or getting off a flight. Or you just might not want contacts -- especially colleagues, or your boss -- to know you're checking WhatsApp at your desk. You can disable or restrict who sees your 'last seen' time in WhatsApp's 'Profile'; 'Privacy' menu, in Android, iOS, Windows or Blackberry. Be aware though, if you turn it off, you won't be able to see other users' 'last seen' times either.

Restrict access to profile picture

Is your profile photo one you've used elsewhere - on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? Maybe it's even on your company's website somewhere. If it is, and your WhatsApp sharing is public, anyone you've ever spoken to -- even if you've just replied to an unwanted message -- can download your picture from your WhatsApp profile and, using Google Image search, very quickly find out more about you. Set profile picture sharing to "contacts only" in the Privacy menu.

Watch out for scams

WhatsApp itself will never contact you through the app. Also, WhatsApp does not send emails about chats, voice messages, payment, changes, photos, or videos, unless you email their help and support to begin with. Anything offering a free subscription, claiming to be from WhatsApp or encouraging you to follow links in order to safeguard your account is definitely a scam and not to be trusted.

Deactivate WhatsApp if you lose your phone

WhatsApp offers users simple and effective security tips to keep control of your account if your phone is lost or stolen. As well as locking your SIM card through your network provider, WhatsApp recommends that you immediately activate WhatsApp with the same phone number on a different phone, with a replacement SIM. The app can only be used by one number on one device at a time, so by doing so you instantly block it from being used on your old phone. If that's not possible, WhatsApp can deactivate your account.

Be careful what you talk about

Last but not the least, use the same common sense you would with any form of digital communication. Don't send personal information if you can possibly avoid it -- addresses, phone numbers, email addresses -- and never send your bank, social security or credit card details, or your passport or other identification details. 

Want some privacy? Go invisible on WhatsApp

PRIYA PATHAK   |  PRIYAPATHAKVIEW

LAST UPDATED: DEC 31, 2015

NEW DELHI

 EMAIL AUTHOR

In the good old days, when everyone was using Google Talk aka GTalk, it was easy to go invisible whenever. To seek some private moments, away from all the pings coming from friends (and foes), all you had to do was toggle the invisible mode in the Google Talk.

Now, when the world has moved to WhatsApp, it is no longer easy to become invisible. We understand how annoying it can be with continuous pings disturbing you while you are taking your power nap or busy playing some game on your phone.  Now you may think why not turn of the mobile data and be done with WhatsApp? Yes, you can. But then turning the data off will also stop some services that you want to access, such as work emails or crucial prompts from your stock broking app.

There has to be some way to seek momentarily peace on WhatsApp, some way to have some privacy. Well, it is not as easy as toggling the invisible mode in GTalk but there are ways. We explain:

1.  Hide your Last Seen:  By hiding your "last seen" feature, you will definitely get some peace of mind. Once the feature is disabled, it takes away the pressure to respond to messages immediately. To turn it off, go to the settings option in your WhatsAppand select account. Under the Privacy tab, change your Last seen to "nobody". Voila! Now nobody knows when were you last seen on WhatsApp. Of course, you also won't be able to see the same information for others. But then that is a small price to pay for some peace. Right?

2.  Hide your Status:  Follow the same process. Settings > Privacy > Status > Nobody. Done! Your status won't be visible to anyone now.

3.  Hide your profile photo: This one is more to avoid the stalkers, girls (and boys). Don't want your sweetest-friend-turned-bitterest-enemy to see your latest party photos on WhatsApp? Turn off the feature. Go to Settings > Privacy > Profile Photo > Nobody. That is all.

4. No Blue Ticks please: The Blue Ticks can be very annoying. The ticks basically mean that you have read the messages, which automatically mean that you are there online! And then if you are online, you are also supposed to respond to the message right away. Or else you childhood friend would be so so offended. No? So, take the drama out of life and disable the Blue Ticks. Go toAccount > Privacy > Uncheck Read Receipts box.

5. Snooze or pause WhatsApp: Okay, this one is a gem of a tech tip. Unfortunately it is only for Android users. Currently, there is no way to pause WhatsApp. At least, not within the app. So if you temporarily want to not receive any messages on WhatsApp, you can do that through Android's app settings. Here is what you need to do: Go to Setting > Apps > WhatsApp > Force Stop.

Once you have force stopped WhatsApp, it won't be able to connect to internet even if you have a working data connection in your phone. You won't receive any messages. The app will be frozen. Once you are ready to come out of your hibernation and love the world again, just tap on the WhatsApp icon on the phone and open the app. It will resume its duty and messages will again start coming.

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7 tips to keep your WhatsApp chats private and safe 

5 things WhatsApp should fix and fix them NOW

JAVED ANWER   |   @JAVED_DEL

LAST UPDATED: APR 05, 2016

NEW DELHI

 EMAIL AUTHOR

WhatsApp is great. We can't say that enough. But it is also incredibly simple, something that actually adds to its appeal most of the time. But there are occasions when this simplicity actually ends up frustrating users. The options, the features, are so simple that they also end up being nuisance because you can't change them.

Two or three years ago when WhatsApp didn't have 1 billion users, this would have been fine. But now, when it is such a crucial communication tool, the lack of some options in WhatsApp is hurting users. Here is what we feel the messaging app should fix and fix soon.

Anyone can add you to a group

WhatsApp is remarkable in the way it allows forming of groups. Whether you want or not, you can end up being a member of a group because on WhatsApp anyone can add you to a group once they have your number. So, even though you may be a doctor, one morning you may find yourself added to the group of petty thieves planning their next heist just because someone wrongly entered a number. Yes, you can quickly exit the group. But that is not the point. Ideally, no one should be able to add you to a group without your permission. But somehow, for some reason, WhatsApp's engineering team can't comprehend this simple concept of privacy and permissions.

 Ideally, no one should be able to add you to a group without your permission 

All the funny photos in your phone

WhatsApp stores all photos, videos etc that users share on the receiver's phone. This clogs up the internal storage in phones and that is a particularly bad problem if you use a phone with less than 16GB  internal storage. Ideally, the photos and videos etc that users are sharing should be stored in WhatsApp servers and should be delivered to a user's phone only if he or she decides to download them. If that is not possible, WhatsApp can at least make the download of photos and videos optional for the groups, where every morning everyone shares ridiculously colourful -- and totally pointless -- good morning images and gif.

Can't use it on spare phone

Imagine you are travelling in some remote location and to deal with battery woes are using two phones. But guess what? You can use WhatsApp on only one phone. If that phone dies, you are out of luck. You can't use WhatsApp on your other working phone and if you do that it will be de-activated on the other phone. It is true that WhatsApp has some genuine reasons to force this contraption on users. But we feel that it is time WhatsApp listens to users and fixes this. The app should be tied to a phone number and not to a device.

Also Read: How to use WhatsApp on secondary phone with primary number

Snooze

In this hyper-active world we all wish for some moments of peace. Unfortunately, something like that doesn't exist in WhatsApp's world. You just can't get away from the messages. Or maybe you are in a meeting and don't want WhatsApp messages. It is same with emails, but emails are less personal, less pervasive. Unlike email, WhatsApp demands and gets our attention. Now, there are ways to make WhatsApp pause. But that is a hack, and that too only available to Android users. Ideally, we will like to see something like a snooze built into WhatsApp.

Privacy

In the last few years, WhatsApp has improved the privacy features it offers. But there is more it needs to do. Specifically, it needs an invisible mode similarly to what chat in Gmail offers. Currently, when you are online, it shows users that you are online, even if you have set the "last seen" as hidden. This is something WhatsApp should fix. It should give users an option to completely go invisible because there are moments when you just want to avoid some people. 

Also Read: Want some privacy? Go invisible on WhatsApp

WhatsApp is more private now:Everything you need to know in 10 points

JAVED ANWER   |   @JAVED_DEL

LAST UPDATED: APR 06, 2016

NEW DELHI

 EMAIL AUTHOR

WhatsApp last night turned on the encryption within the app. That has created a lot of buzz. But why and how exactly it affects WhatsApp users? Well, sit tight and let us explain it all to you in 10 quick points:

1- Starting Tuesday night, all WhatsApp communication is encrypted. This means, now when you chat with your friends, cyber criminals or even government sleuths will not be able to capture the data and read your chats, even if they are stealing all your Wi-Fi traffic. Although, they can still steal, confiscate or snatch your phone and read all your chats.

2- The WhatsApp encryption is end-to-end. This means the keys to encrypt the chats will be stored only with users. Even WhatsApp won't have any key, so the government can't demand such keys from the company that runs the chat app.

Here is how WhatsApp co-founders explained it: "The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us. End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private - sort of like a face-to-face conversation."

Also Read: WhatsApp turns on encryption, promises secure chats for over billion users

3- For added security, you can even authenticate chats on WhatsApp. This, according to WhatsApp, will be done between users through a QR Code or a 60-digit number.

4- The WhatsApp encryption is 256-bit strong. Theoretically, it is impossible to crack it by brute force method. Although, there could be implementation loopholes that government agencies like the NSA in the US can exploit.

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5- If you want to use WhatsApp encryption, all you need to do is download the latest version of the app. It is enabled by default.

6- Now everything is encrypted on WhatsApp. Text, your selfies, the funny videos, even the PJs in school group are encrypted. Isn't it wonderful? Cyber criminals won't even be able to sniff out all the "photoshopped" forwards that you receive in your WhatsApp group.

7- The encryption is not expected to have any significant effect on the user experience. The service will, possibly, continue to be fast and free.

8- The big deal about the WhatsApp encryption is that suddenly over a billion people on earth have access to incredibly secure and private communication. This is unprecedented and makes WhatsApp move wonderful and scary at the same time.

9- According to WhatsApp, its latest feature is built using "the Signal Protocol, designed by Open Whisper Systems." The company says that this protocol is specifically developed to keep third-parties like cyber criminals and government officials away from private communications.

10- At a time when the concept of privacy is almost gone, WhatsApp encryption changes the rule of the game. It will probably force other technology companies to offer encryption by default. As WhatsApp co-founders said, "we expect that (WhatsApp-like encryption) will ultimately represent the future of personal communication". 

Also Read: 5 things WhatsApp needs to fix and fix them now

Chat smart! 10 tips that will make you WhatsApp expert

PRIYA PATHAK   |  @PRIYAPATHAKVIEW

LAST UPDATED: SEP 07, 2016

NEW DELHI

 EMAIL AUTHOR

WhatsApp has become a lifeline for almost smartphone user since its launch in year 2009. It is the most popular chat app in the world and has over 1 billion monthly active users. But while a lot of people use WhatsApp, not everyone is keeping track of all the new features the app has got in the last several months.

Also Read: WhatsApp on Windows: How to use it

In fact, since the beginning of this year the number of features coming to WhatsApp has grown at a rapid pace. Nowadays, almost every two weeks there is a new WhatsApp feature. So what does that mean for you, the WhatsApp user? You are probably not using WhatsApp in a very smart way. But worry not, we tell you some tips that will help you get most out of WhatsApp. To start with, 10 tips. 

1. Tap to speak: Don't want to type those lengthy and boring messages? That's fine. WhatsApp has a feature to help you deal with this. Simply, press the 'mic' button in your keypad and now dictate your long messages to the app.
2. Find out who has read your message in a group chat: Not everyone reads a message at the same time in a group chat. And those double blue ticks, they appear only when the message has been read by all in the group. So now you can know who has read your messages and who hasn't. Just tap and hold on the message, and then tap the Info option. You will see the message details like the exact time it was delivered and read.
3. Reply to a specific message: Do you have a friend who quick fires messages? Like one question and then before you can answer that, another question. To make it less confusing, you can answer the specific messages. Press on the message you want to answer, select the 'reply' button, and then type and send your response. It will appear with the original message so that the context is not lost.
4. Create shortcuts for important contracts: You can create shortcuts for your important contact on your phone's home screen. All you have to do is go the contact's chat window > Settings > More > Add Shortcut. You can now see the shortcut on your phone's home screen.
5. Stylise your messages: You can add some style -- or highlights -- to your messages using bold, italics, and strike-thrus. For e.g. *Hi * for bold, _Hi _ for italics and ~Hi ~ for strike-thrus.
6. Mute the noisy group notifications: Continuous messages in a group can be a annoying. Here's what you need to do to mute those irritating notifications. Tap on a group name > tap on Mute and then select how long you want to mute the group
7. Broadcast live feature: With festivals coming you may want to send a message to several friends at once. You can do this using this feature. Go to the Chats screen, tap on the menu button and then 'New broadcast' to choose the contacts you want to send the message. So party on Friday? Invite all your friends with single message.
8. Send a map of your location or nearby places to let someone know where you are or suggest a meeting place: To do this, tap on the share icon and then send your location or search for a place. Your GPS should be turned on before you send the location.
9. Personalise your WhatsApp: You can change the wallpaper of your WhatsApp. You will find this option under settings.
10. Search your WhatsApp chat history: You can search for a precise message in your chat thread. Go the contact's screen where you want to find the message. Tap the option button > Search > Type the text you are looking for. The app will fetch in the search term along with the conversation it came in.

Also Read: WhatsApp is more private now: Everything you need to know in 10 points

Jio 4G one week later: The charm is gone and so has the speed

MANISH SAIN   |   @FAT_GRIZZLY

LAST UPDATED: SEP 12, 2016

NEW DELHI

 EMAIL AUTHOR

Reliance Jio had started its Preview Offer in May this year, but that was only for a limited number of people, mostly Reliance employees. Soon after that the Jio SIM was available to people if they had a Lyf, Samsung, or LG phone. And a little before its public launch on September 5, the Preview Offer SIM was virtually available to everyone.

But the actual launch, and that too ought to be called beta until the commercial plans come from the January 1, 2017, happened only on the September 5.

Now, when not too many people were on the network, that is before the mid August, the Jio was a service incredibly fast. But using the Jio SIM when almost everyone has it or is trying to get, is an entirely different issue. And for most parts Reliance Jio Welcome Offer, which started from September 5, doesn't feel all that special, not anymore.

Also read: Reliance starts moving Jio users from Preview Offer to Welcome Offer

Crazy fast in beginning

A freebie is a freebie and you can't really complain about it. Having managed to obtain the SIM a few days before September 5 as part of the enterprise plan, I felt like the king walking around the customers who were in queue at Reliance stores. The next surprise came when I popped in the SIM into the phone. It was already pre-activated. To test the service, I used the SIM in two phones -- LeEco Le 2 and Moto X Play smartphone.

Also read: Reliance Jio SIM ground report: 1 SIM for 8 people and a wait of 50 days

Initially, on September 5 the butter-smooth speed of Reliance Jio was like seeing a dream in 4K resolution. After watching YouTube videos at 720P for about an hour I got back to the normal browsing and chatting that I do on my phone. There was no buffering, everything was fast and all was well and good.

Then at about 11 in the night, the network just disappeared. Entirely. No bars, nothing. It stayed like that for the next two hours or so.

After September 5

Once others started using Reliance Jio, which is an assumption we are making considering that the Welcome Offer opened to all on September 5, the network turned sluggish. It became kind of a hit & miss affair. Normal browsing and chatting is still smooth more or less. It takes about 1-2 seconds to load Facebook on my phone's browser, which is good. The same goes while opening links or other websites.

I was downloading all the media on WhatsApp, while streaming music on Gaana app. On my earlier connection, which was from Aircel, doing something like this was nearly impossible. But on Jio it is possible.

Unfortunately, not always. It is possible only when you are in a room or somewhere stationary. If you are on the road or in the metro, the Jio performance is similar to what you get with other operators. In other words, streaming music on an app like Gaana will pause intermittently while inside the metro.  

Downloading new apps from Google Play Store showed a new kind of a problem, which I have never encountered before. The "downloading" bar kept on running without showing remaining size to be downloaded. However, it started downloading the way it should once I was stationary. This is strange.

While downloading big images and movies from Google Drive was also a painful experience at times. At first it showed a speed of 80-150kbps, which is okay, then went up to 600kbps, which is around 6mbps. This is far lower than Jio's advertised speed, but is something you can call decent until it stays near its higher limits. But the bigger problem is fluctuations. It is inconsistent.

Also read: Jio 4G SIM now available to all: Everything you need to know

While on hotspot

Hotspot is also another thing that may give you moments of happiness and sadness alike. It is irregular to say the least. During the use I found that speed plummeted and rose on its own accord. If that was not enough, hotspot also caused the network to disappear from the phone. It reappeared after some 10 to 15 minutes.

Also read: Got the Jio SIM? Here is how to use it in best possible way

Calls are bad

Free calls are not worth it if you can't talk. Reliance Jio app bundle has an app named Jio Join -- now called Jio4GVoice -- that allows you to make VoLTE calls. Just like WhatsApp calling. We tried both. Jio4GVoice was mostly good, the voice quality dropped at times but it wasn't bad enough to be unusable. WhatsApp calling wasn't a pleasant experience. There was a noticeable lag during the call. Breaking voice is also something we noticed quite often during the WhatsApp call.

Coming to the normal calling, don't even try this. A normal call over Reliance Jio network is stuff of nightmares. The whole conversation sounds like your friend is speaking in Morse code. Unless you know how to decipher Morse code, don't call from Reliance Jio network to a number that is on Airtel or Vodafone. We don't know the reasons. We don't know whether the fault is with Airtel, Vodafone and others, something that Reliance has alleged or if it is a problem with Jio. But the issue is very real and consumers do suffer for this.

Also read: Reliance Jio vs Airtel and others: Jio data is cheap but not by much

To sum it up

Officially, Reliance Jio 4G has completed a week among public and with every passing day more users are joining the network. While Reliance Jio's promise of 25mbps is attractive enough, it also cannot be denied that the company is having a hard time providing that speed to everyone.

But do keep in mind that these are early days for Reliance Jio. Although on paper, the company seem to have impressive infrastructure, this Jio launch of September 5 needs to be considered with some context: and that context is this is a sort of beta launch, a very final testing phase for the Jio network. The problems are expected with this network. That is the reason why the Jio services are free till December 31. We don't know how this is going to play out in the future. Will it get better? Will Jio deliver on its promise? Or will it get worse, as more and more people join the network? We will have to wait and watch. But until the Jio services go commercial, and for that the date is January 1, consider that every service from Jio is part of a big beta testing.

Update: We have heard from Jio sources who say the problems highlighted in this piece are not widespread and are only limited to a few consumers. Also, the issues are set to be resolved soon as Reliance fine-tunes the network, they say.