WhatsApp is finally rolling out Two-Step Verification or Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to everyone.
2FA for WhatsApp was first announced in fall 2016 for beta version. And now it is ready to make this feature available to 1.2 billion Android, iOS and Window devices.
2-Step Verification is an extra layer of security which ensures that only you can access your account even if someone else knows your password. This extra piece of information can be an alpha-numeric code or something else. Your password will be the first authentication and the code will be secondary authentication. Read more about 2FA here.
In case of WhatsApp, the first authentication is when you enter your phone number. Now, the second layer of security will be a six-digit code.
To enable the feature, open WhatsApp > Settings > Account > Two-step verification > Enable.
You won’t have to enter the code every time you log in. But you will be required to enter this code every 7 days for verification.
Warning
According to a support document, “If you have two-step verification enabled, your number will not be permitted to reverify on WhatsApp within 7 days of last using WhatsApp without your passcode. Thus, if you forget your own passcode, but did not provide an email to disable two-step verification, even you will not be permitted to reverify on WhatsApp within 7 days of last using WhatsApp.
After these 7 days, your number will be permitted to reverify on WhatsApp without your passcode, but you will lose all pending messages upon reverifying – they will be deleted. If your number is reverified on WhatsApp after 30 days of last using WhatsApp, and without your passcode, your account will be deleted and a new one will be created upon successfully reverifying.”
So, it is highly recommended that you add an email so that you do not get locked out of your account or lose all conversations if you forget your passcode.
WhatsApp introduced another security feature last year i.e, end-to-end encryption, which is a way of making your conversations more secure. It means third parties and WhatsApp will not be able to view the contents or listen to your conversations.
The 2FA feature is slowly rolling out to everyone. Keep checking your WhatsApp app for the update.
