Just like other social media applications, WhatsApp tries its best to allow its users to use the application while remaining safe and secure. Although this platform is comparatively safer and more secure than Facebook and Instagram, you should also be aware of if someone hacks your WhatsApp.
However, according to a survey, WhatsApp is the most used mobile messenger application, which has almost 2 billion active users globally. With lots of people using WhatsApp, it has also become a target for some hackers into these accounts. Imagine yourself waking up and finding your WhatsApp account being hacked, this could be one of the scariest nightmares. Today, the internet is full of hacking and spying apps for iPhone and Android, that hackers use to hijack social media accounts and leak your sensitive information.
So, if you also wonder, “can someone hack my WhatsApp,” this article is a must-read for you. In this guide, you will know about some signs that would help you identify if your WhatsApp is hacked and how you can cope with such situations.
4 Signs your WhatsApp has been Hacked
WhatsApp is comparatively more user-friendly. However, it is quite challenging to identify that your app has been hacked. But, you can determine it by analyzing some signs. Below are some ways through which you can know if someone has hacked your WhatsApp.
Check Your WhatsApp Activity
If you have received some messages on your WhatsApp, you see a list of unread messages with a green dot that shows that the message has not been opened yet. However, if you find that some new messages have been sent or received and opened from your account, it means that someone is using your WhatsApp.
Check your Contact Information
If a hacker tried to jailbreak your WhatsApp account, he will first try to change the contact information. You can check your contact information by visiting Settings > Profile and reviewing the information. Check your name and about, if anything is changed, it means someone has access to your account.
Check Linked Devices
Another way to check if your WhatsApp has been hacked is to check if some peripheral devices are linked to your WhatsApp account. To check this, tap three dots in the right corner above and select Linked Devices. Under the Devices Status option, you would see the device name in which your WhatsApp is logged in.
Check your Message from WhatsApp
Another way to check if someone tried to log in to your account is to check your personal messages on your smartphone. Basically, you receive a WhatsApp code in order to log into your account. If you have received such a message, it means someone has tried to break into your WhatsApp account.
So, these were some ways through which you can identify if someone has hijacked your WhatsApp account. If you still wonder can you hack my WhatsApp? Then, yes! But, you should also know the solutions to
What Should I do if My WhatsApp has been Hijacked?
After executing the aforementioned steps, now that you’re sure that someone has hacked your WhatsApp, don’t panic. Here are some ways through which you can restore your WhatsApp from hacker and protect it.
Make Sure to not Logout
First of all, when you know that your WhatsApp has been hacked, do not log out your account. Hackers try to access your account by sending you verification codes. However, if you get such codes, don’t log out of your account immediately. Instead, just ignore these messages.
Reset your Password
As soon as you discover that your account has been asked. Change your account’s password right away. It will help you get more security and will aware the hacker to not access your account again.
Inform your Contacts
Lastly, if you could not do anything, it is better to inform your contacts as early as possible. Notify them that your WhatsApp account has been hacked to alert them that the hacker can also reach them and ask for verification codes. Also, ask them to report in case they get any inappropriate messages through your account.
Protect Your WhatsApp from Being Hacked
Fortunately, if your WhatsApp has not been hacked, you could be the next target. Thus, before it’s too late, follow some approaches to protect your WhatsApp from being hacked.
Enable Two-Step Verification
Two-Step Verification, also known as Two-Factor Authentication or 2FA is the most important aspect to enable security to your social media account. If you haven’t done so before, be sure to set up Two-Step verification for your Apple ID and Google account. Follow the steps below to enable two-factor verification on your WhatsApp.
- In your WhatsApp, go to Settings.
- Select Account and tap on the Two-Step Verifications option.
- Enable this option and provide a password and you’re all set.
- Make sure to remember your password.
Verify End-to-End Encryption
Being tracked or observed while using WhatsApp is nothing to be seriously concerned about. However, if you are unsure about a contact, you may manually check the End to Encryption security code to make sure that you are only communicating with your friend and that no one else is intercepting your conversations.
Select the contact’s chat in WhatsApp on your phone to start the verification process. Tap the contact’s name at the top after that. Tap “Encryption” in the window that has just opened.
Your security code is displayed there with a QR code. Open the same screen from your chat on the other person’s WhatsApp and check it with their security code. Use your phone’s “Scan Code” button to scan the QR code.
Do Not Click on Suspicious Links
Not everything you see on WhatsApp needs to be genuine and might occasionally be harmful information. Through fraudulent links, hackers might attempt to steal your WhatsApp or other personal information. Do not open any shared links from a group or any network from an unknown contact except if you are certain of their legitimacy.
These obvious phishing URLs typically appear as brand offerings. However, they will secretly lead you to a website that mimics your preferred one in an effort to mislead you into providing your login information. Therefore, unless you are quite certain about them, never attempt to access any suspicious links.
Deactivate your WhatsApp
What happens if your phone is lost or stolen? It’s likely that the person who stole your phone knew how to unlock it. Both your data and your WhatsApp conversations could be stolen. Deactivating WhatsApp as soon as it is taken is the easiest way to prevent this.
There is a wonderful solution if you’re thinking about how to virtually cancel your WhatsApp account. Just sign in to WhatsApp on a different device. By doing this, you can log out of WhatsApp on your seized phone and disable it.
Wrapping Up
Do you still ask; can someone hack my iPhone? So, the answer is yes! There are a lot of hacking tools and methods through which hackers can access your WhatsApp account and misuse it. However, in this article, we mentioned some useful approaches through which you can get back your account and protect it. Execute these methods and make your WhatsApp secure.
