WhatsApp is rolling out a new stricter security setting to protect users from cyber attacts

In a proactive response to recent legal challenges, Meta has unveiled a robust new security feature for its popular messaging app, WhatsApp. This initiative, termed Strict Account Settings, aims to bolster user safety against cyber threats. The new settings come with several protective measures, including the automatic blocking of media and attachments from unfamiliar senders and muting calls from unknown numbers. Additionally, link previews will be disabled, and the feature will enable restrictions on receiving excessive messages from unknown contacts. When users activate these settings, two-step verification will be automatically turned on, alongside alerts that notify users if the verification code of a chat partner has changed. Moreover, the updated privacy controls will limit visibility of the user's last seen status, online presence, profile photo, and other details to contacts only. Those who opt for these enhanced security measures will find that only their contacts, or selected individuals from within their contacts, can add them to new groups. Meta describes this "lockdown-style" feature as particularly beneficial for journalists and public figures, stating, "Strict account settings are an optional security enhancement that minimizes your exposure to cyber threats by restricting certain functionalities. Your account will be set to more private defaults, and interactions with individuals outside your saved contacts will be limited." To enable this feature, users can navigate to Settings > Privacy > Advanced and activate Strict Account Settings. It is important to note that this adjustment can only be made from the primary device, excluding companion platforms like WhatsApp for Web or Windows. This rollout comes at a time when WhatsApp is facing accusations from a lawsuit claiming that Meta has misled users about the security of their private communications. WhatsApp's head, Will Cathcart, has publicly dismissed the lawsuit as baseless and motivated by sensationalism.