5 Must Know WhatsApp's Privacy Features

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps with over 400 million users in India itself. WhatsApp has been working on various features. It still remains one of easiest and most efficient to use.

Other than improve the look and efficiency, WhatsApp has also paid reasonable attention to the privacy of users.

Check out these five privacy features of WhatsApp

Control people from adding you to WhatsApp Groups

Follow these simple steps:

1. Open WhatsApp on your smartphone.

2. Go to the Settings tab, here you will find the Accounts tab.

3. Click on the Accounts tab and then click on Privacy.

4. Click on Groups under Privacy.

5. Here you'll find three options: "Everyone", "My Contacts" and "Nobody."

6. Choose any of the options depending on who you want to be added by.

Enable Biometric Lock

This feature will enable an extra layer of security for WhatsApp users and will ensure that nobody other than the user is able to read the messages. The fingerprint ID is for Android users, while Touch ID and Face ID is for iOS users.

To enable this feature, please follow these steps:

1. Open WhatsApp

2. Go to settings

3. Account

4. Privacy

5. Enable Fingerprint lock

Choose who cannot see your profile picture and status

Users can choose who can or cannot see their profile picture, their status and their status story. The user has three options -- "Everyone", "My Contacts" and "Nobody". The same is applicable to status.

In order to use the feature one has to follow these steps:

1. Open WhatsApp

2. Go to Settings

3. Account

4. Privacy

5. Profile Photo

6. Choose one of the options that are available

Report, Block Users

If the user do not want to receive messages or calls over WhatsApp from another user, they can block or block and report them. If the contact name is not saved in the phonebook, then the option to block will appear in the chat window itself.

In case the number of the user is saved, then follow these steps:

1. Open WhatsApp

2. Choose the name of the person that needs to be blocked

3. In the chat window, click on three dots in top right corner

4. Click on 'More', choose block from the drop down menu

Disable 'read message' Feature

While WhatsApp's blue feature is a boon for some it is certainly not the best idea for people who do not want to let the sender know whether or not they have seen the message.

To disable the 'blue ticks' or read message feature, all that the user has to do is:

1. Open WhatsApp

2. Go to Settings

3. Account

4. Privacy

5. Switch off read receipts