WhatsApp celebrates World Mental Health Day, showcases best features to ensure peace of mind

1. Open the WhatsApp app.
2. Open a chat you want to hide.
3. Tap the profile icon to open the profile.
4. Scroll down and tap the Chat Lock option.
5. Turn on Lock this chat with fingerprint.
6. Confirm your fingerprint.
7. Tap View to see the chat in the Locked chats folder.

Disappearing Messages and View once

This features let you send messages that automatically disappear after a certain period of time, or after they are viewed once by the recipient. This can be useful for sharing information or media that you don’t want to leave a permanent trace on your device or theirs. You can also prevent the recipient from taking screenshots of your View once messages, giving you more control over what you share.

1. Open the individual chat or group.
2. Tap on the contact or group name at the top.
3. Select Disappearing Messages.
4. Tap Continue and turn it on or off.

Privacy Checkup

This feature guides you through important privacy settings that help you choose the right level of protection for your account. You can access it from Settings > Privacy and review your options for securing your messages, calls, and personal information.

Privacy settings to control who sees your personal details

You can also customise who can see your profile photo, last seen, online status, about, status, and other personal details from Settings > Privacy on WhatsApp. You can choose to share them with everyone, only your contacts, select contacts, or no one. You can also hide your online presence from specific contacts or groups, if you want to keep it private. This can help you avoid unwanted attention or harassment from strangers or people you don’t trust.

Group privacy settings to ensure a safe messaging experience

You can decide who can add you to groups on WhatsApp, so that you don’t end up in groups that you don’t want to be a part of. You can also leave a group quietly without notifying everyone, if you feel uncomfortable or unhappy in it.

Silence unknown callers

This feature helps you block spam, scams, and calls from unknown people that may try to trick you or harm you. These calls will not ring on your phone, but you will still see them in your call list, in case you need to check them later.

1. Tap Settings > Privacy.
2. Tap Calls.
3. Flip the toggle switch for the feature.

Block and report suspicious accounts

If you receive problematic messages from unknown numbers on WhatsApp, such as those that contain suspicious links, request personal information, or offer fake deals, you can block and report them to WhatsApp. This will prevent them from contacting you again and help WhatsApp take action against them.