International Women's Day 2023: 7 Safety tips for you while using WhatsApp

Know WhatsApp's top privacy features that assist women in building a private, safe, and inclusive messaging experience.

International Women's Day 2023: With over 400 million users in India alone, WhatsApp is a leader in secure end-to-end encrypted messaging services that allow people to communicate privately with friends and family. Keeping in line with this year's theme for International Women's Day, 'DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality', to be celebrated on March 8, we brought to you some of the WhatsApp's privacy features that help build a private, safe and inclusive messaging experience.

WhatsApp, one of the world's most popular messaging services, with over 400 million users in India alone, is a platform sometimes used for abuse against women. (Representative Image) (Reuters)

The theme 'DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality' emphasised the importance of technology in bringing gender issues to light. Every year on March 8, International Women's Day raises awareness of issues such as gender equality, violence, and abuse against women. The day was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977.

Here are the platform's top privacy features that assist women in building a private, safe, and inclusive messaging experience.

Block and report

Many WhatsApp users, particularly women, are plagued by problematic messages from unknown numbers. The application's 'block and report' feature assists users in dealing with the aforementioned issue. Blocked contacts or numbers will be unable to call or send messages to you. The last five messages sent to you by the reported user or group are received by WhatsApp, and they are not notified.

Disappearing messages

Despite the fact that WhatsApp is built with "end-to-end encryption," users will want more control and privacy over their conversations. The feature of 'disappearing messages' that vanish twenty-four hours, seven days, or ninety days after the messages are sent, depending on the duration you choose. There is also 'view once' feature to share photos and videos without leaving a permanent digital record.

Screenshot blocking

Users can also enable screenshot blocking for view once messages to add an extra layer of protection. Even if the receiver tries to save it, the app will prevent them from doing so by disabling the cellphone's screenshot function. Aside from that, screen recording, which is available on almost all smartphones, will not function. The screen recording will go black when you view the 'view once' message.

Get added to groups with consent

Getting added to a group chat without your permission is one of the biggest frustrations with WhatsApp. To control who can add you to groups, check the following privacy settings.

Go to Settings >> Privacy >> Groups, and set the following

Everyone: The user can always be added to groups. When this is set, no invitations will be sent.

My Contacts: This means that you can be added to groups from your contacts at any time. It also implies that you will be invited to join a group by people who are not on your contact list.

Nobody: When this is enabled, you cannot be added directly to any groups in any situation. Every time someone wants to add you to a group, you will receive a request.

Exit groups without notifying

WhatsApp's privacy settings also allow the user to leave a group without notifying the other members. The user can easily leave any group she no longer wishes to be a part of. Only the group's admin will be notified of the user's exit.

Control on your personal details

On WhatsApp, users can manage their personal information, such as their profile photo, last seen, online status, about, status, and who sees it, by deciding who has access to their online information: everyone, contacts only, select contacts, or no one. You can also manage your online presence by deciding who can and cannot see when you're online, which is useful for checking WhatsApp privately.

Enable ‘Two-Step Verification’ feature

Add extra layer of security to your account by enabling ‘Two-Step Verification’ feature which which requires a six-digit PIN when resetting and verifying your WhatsApp account. This is helpful in case a SIM card gets stolen or if the phone is compromised.