Do you notice strange things in WhatsApp? This might be a sign that someone is watching you a little too closely. Here are the clues to look for to find out… and to quickly get rid of the unwanted!
With more than two billion users around the world, WhatsApp is an instant messenger renowned for its high level of security. It provides end-to-end encryption, which means that the content of messages remains completely opaque to any third party; only senders and recipients can decrypt them. But that doesn’t mean she’s safe from espionage attempts. Indeed, WhatsApp delivers a certain amount of information about you to your contacts by default. In particular, they can know what time you logged in, whether or not you have read their messages, whether you are currently online, not to mention the statuses you post. It doesn’t take much for some people to turn into real voyeurs – stalkers in the world of social networks – without you even realizing it! And let’s not talk about those who manage to hack your account to shamelessly search your privacy!
How do you know if you are being monitored on WhatsApp?
Certain behaviors should alert you. So, if one of your contacts automatically logs in when you’re online or sends you a message as soon as you open the WhatsApp app, their behavior is suspicious. Afterwards, it could be a coincidence. But if that person constantly notices and comments on changes in your profile picture, or the double checkmark at the bottom of a sent message changes almost instantly from gray to blue – a sign that the missive has been read – then there is reason to worry. This is especially the case if that person is the first to appear in the “Who viewed my status” list on status updates.
Fortunately, you can restrict the information provided by WhatsApp by going to the application settings, in the “Privacy” section. You can choose who can see your profile photo, your information, your status or your online presence. You can also deactivate your read receipts to protect your privacy. To accurately identify who is monitoring you, click “Status” – the second section in the sidebar at the top of the screen – and tap “My Status” to see all recent updates to your feed. ‘news. Next to each status, an eye icon tells you how many people have viewed it. All you have to do is swipe up to see who has recently viewed it.
But sometimes, that is not enough, and it happens that one of your loved ones – and this unfortunately happens more often than you might think – directly accesses your account without your authorization, which allows them to read your messages, but also see your contacts, photos, videos, etc. This is quite easy to do thanks to the improved multi-device mode, which allows you to use the same account on several smartphones simultaneously, or by logging into the web version of the application. A single minute of inattention is enough for the person to grab your device and scan the WhatsApp Web QR Code on PC. Also, if you receive notifications telling you that a device has connected to your account or if you are frequently logged out of your WhatsApp account on your smartphone, it could be a sign that someone else is connect to it from another device.
To find out for sure, go to the app settings and tap “Connected devices” to see who has access to your account. If no device is detected, the application will only offer you to “Connect a device”. Otherwise, we invite you to formally disconnect the device, immediately change your password and activate two-factor authentication (F2A). You can also enable security notifications on WhatsApp to receive an alert if your account is used on another device or if the security code of a conversation changes. Don’t leave your smartphone unattended, and find out who is watching you. A discussion is necessary…