WhatsApp will now ask for verification if your account is being moved onto another phone

WhatsApp is debuting three new security features that it says will help protect users’ accounts from being used for impersonations. Additional verifications on the world’s most popular messaging app will ensure both parties in each conversation will know they are talking to the right person.

As many of you will know, each WhatsApp account is tied to a phone number, so upgrading to a new phone also means moving your account from your old device. To make sure you are doing so intentionally, the app will now ask for verification on your old phone, helping to alert users of a potentially unauthorised attempt to take over your account from a different device.

WhatsApp will also perform checks to authenticate your account behind the scenes (without prompting you), preventing malware on your phone from taking control of your account and sending unwanted messages. Additionally, the app is enhancing its security code feature, which users can compare with each other to make sure their messages are going to the intended recipient. A new function based on the “Key Transparency” process will automatically verify that you have a secure connection to that recipient.

Separately, the company has urged users to turn on two-step verification and end-to-end encrypted backups to further secure their account, and to tell their friends to do the same thing. It also promised it would share more updates soon.