WhatsApp has introduced a new security feature designed to strengthen user protection against cyberattacks, days after Meta was sued over alleged misleading privacy claims surrounding the messaging platform.
The new feature, called Strict Account Settings, adds an extra layer of protection by limiting interactions with unknown contacts and tightening privacy controls across the app. According to WhatsApp, the setting is aimed at users who may be at higher risk of targeted attacks, including journalists, activists, and public figures.
When enabled, Strict Account Settings automatically block media files and attachments from unknown senders, silence calls from numbers not saved in a user’s contacts, and turn off link previews. The feature also activates WhatsApp’s existing protections against high volumes of messages from unknown accounts, reducing the risk of spam and phishing attempts.
In addition, the setting enforces stronger account-level security by switching on two-step verification by default and enabling security notifications that alert users when the encryption code of a contact changes. Visibility of personal information is also restricted, as last seen status, online presence, profile photos, about details, and profile links are limited to contacts only.
Group controls are tightened as well. With the setting active, only contacts — or selected people within a user’s contacts — can add them to WhatsApp groups, further reducing exposure to unsolicited group invitations.
WhatsApp described the feature as a “lockdown-style” security option that reduces account vulnerability by limiting functionality and enforcing more private defaults.
“Strict Account Settings are an optional, lockdown-style security feature that, when enabled, reduces your vulnerability to cyberattacks by limiting functionality,” the company said. “Your account is locked to more private settings, and your chats with others outside your contacts will have limitations.”
Users can activate the feature by navigating to Settings > Privacy > Advanced and turning on Strict Account Settings. Meta noted that the option can only be enabled or disabled from a user’s primary device and not through companion platforms such as WhatsApp Web or desktop apps.
The rollout comes at a sensitive time for Meta. The company is currently facing a lawsuit alleging that WhatsApp misrepresented the privacy and security of user communications. The suit claims that Meta stores, analyses, and can access large portions of users’ supposedly private messages.
WhatsApp head Will Cathcart has dismissed the allegations, describing the case as a “no-merit, headline-seeking lawsuit,” and reaffirming the platform’s commitment to end-to-end encryption.
Strict Account Settings are expected to roll out globally in the coming weeks as WhatsApp continues to position security and privacy as core pillars of its product strategy.
