WhatsApp is one of the most recognizable applications which uses the phone number to register a user on its services and be found using the same number by other members of the application. However, as the WhatsApp boycott has commenced, people have been deleting it directly which leaves their phone numbers vulnerable to theft.
SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 14: The WhatsApp messaging app is displayed on an Apple iPhone on May 14, 2019 in San Anselmo, California. Facebook owned messaging app WhatsApp announced a cybersecurity breach that makes users vulnerable to malicious spyware installation iPhone and Android smartphones. WhatsApp is encouraging its 1.5 billion users to update the app as soon as possible.
One of the largest social media platforms in the world, Facebook, has acquired WhatsApp last 2014 and has managed the instant messaging application since then. However, certain controversies have risen for Facebook and that includes the Antitrust Law from the FCC and the boycott from the general public.
Notably, WhatsApp has asked users for extra consent with their latest update which allows Facebook to access content from the instant messaging application, despite being separate from it.
This incident caught the attention of its users and massive social media figures which denounced the act and "canceled" Facebook along with WhatsApp. Moreover, the new privacy policy and security terms caused people to boycott the application and switch to alternatives such as Signal, Telegram, and other encrypted services.
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WhatsApp: Change Your Phone Number to PIN to Protect Identity
According to Forbes cybersecurity writer and contributor, Zak Doffman, Apple and Google have also avoided using Phone Number verification and identification which have adverse effects on online identity. Not only is it unsafe, but it also opens up real-world identities to vulnerabilities as phone numbers are registered on legitimate people.
Additionally, these big tech companies, Apple and Google, have moved away from the SMS verification system which it previously utilized and relied on for security purposes. Facebook has also done the same with WhatsApp, which asks for a phone verification for the last time, and alternatively use a personal identification (PIN) code for better integration.
How to Change WhatsApp Phone Number to PIN
To do this, users would need to go to Account > Two-Step Verification > Enable > and Enter the new PIN code for the feature. However, according to WhatsApp, users would be given seven days before they can use the PIN Code without the Two-Step Verification Code to ensure that attackers cannot access any of the user files. or account.
Hackers have been ingenious in taking the account of several users and that is by delaying the SMS verification, which in turn, have been routed to their phone numbers to hack WhatsApp users. After which, they enter their PIN, which locks out original users. This is the reason why WhatsApp has changed it to seven days of Two-Step verification.
In this method, users would be protected as they continuously update their account and verify via the SMS messages before PIN Code log-ins are used. Users are advised to use unique PIN Codes for verification, something that cannot be associated with them by a hacker who holds harmful information against the owners.
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This artcle is owned by Tech Times
Written by Isaiah Alonzo
