Say goodbye to scams: an easy way to activate “spy mode” in WhatsApp in seconds

Privacy has become a critical issue in the digital age. We are increasingly sharing details of our lives through devices and apps, so keeping our personal information secure is a priority. Moreover, cybercriminals have become more prevalent than ever and their fraud techniques are becoming more sophisticated. In this context, WhatsApp is often the target of these types of attacks, so it is important to know how to activate “spy mode”.

While the app doesn’t have a “spy mode ” per se, there are settings in the privacy settings that can make your account much more secure. By hiding information such as your profile picture, username, and the time of your last visit, you reduce the amount of information that cybercriminals or undesirables can use to learn more about you. This is especially useful if you receive messages from unknown numbers or if you are concerned that your personal data is being collected without your consent.

WhatsApp’s “Spy Mode”

Below we explain how to activate these settings to make your WhatsApp profile more private. Although these steps are not incognito mode in the literal sense, they will help you increase the security of your account and prevent unwanted people from seeing your online activity.

1. Privacy Settings

The first thing you should do is open the WhatsApp app on your phone and go into its settings. To do this, open the app and go to the Settings tab located in the bottom right corner (on Android devices, it is located in the top right corner and looks like three vertical dots). Under “Settings,” find the “Account” option and select it. Then tap “Privacy” where you can change your account security and visibility settings.

2. Profile picture

One of the first settings you can make to protect your privacy is to decide who can see your profile picture. While it’s customary to share your picture with your contacts, there are times when you may prefer to hide it from people you don’t know or who aren’t in your inner circle. To change this option, select “Profile Photo.” Here you will have several options:

• All: all users will be able to see your photo.
• My Contacts : only the people you have saved as contactswill be able to see it.
• Nobody – if you don’t want anyone to see your profile picture, you can select this option which will hide it completely.

3- Username

The next step is to control who can see your username or the information displayed on your profile. As with your profile picture, you can make your name visible only to your contacts or not show it to anyone at all. To customize this option, select “Information” in the privacy section and then choose the option that best suits you:

• Everyone: Anyone will be able to see your username.
• My contacts: only people in your contact list will be able to see this information.
• No one: if you prefer no one to see your name, this is the strictest option.

4. Last connection time

One of the most useful but also the most intrusive features of WhatsApp is the feature that shows you when you were last online. This information can reveal patterns in your activity, which can help cybercriminals gain insight into your schedule. To prevent anyone who adds you to their contacts from seeing this information, you can easily change it. Go to the “Last online…” option and select one of the following options:

• Everyone – this option will allow all users to see the time you were last online.
• My contacts: only your contacts will be able to see this information.
• Nobody: If you want to keep your last visit information private, you can hide it completely.
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5. Two-step verification

Although WhatsApp’s “spy mode” is the best way to hide your profile data, it is also important to enable other security features to further protect your account. One of the best ways to do this is to enable two-step authentication.

This feature provides an extra layer of security, as it will ask for a PIN every time you try to verify your number on a new device. To enable it, go to Account in Settings, select “Two-step authentication” and follow the instructions to set the security code.

6. Unknown contacts

If you ever receive messages from unknown numbers, it’s best to ignore or block them. WhatsApp allows you to block users by simply opening the conversation profile and selecting the “Block Contact” option. This will prevent that person from seeing your photo, name or the time of your last visit, regardless of the settings you have made.