Backup and Encryption: You should avoid these dangerous Whatsapp settings

Whatsapp is by far the most popular chat app in Switzerland. It was downloaded more than twice as often from the Google Play Store as Facebook Messenger, which comes in second. As “The Sun” reports, the app contains some features that users should keep their hands off.

For example, automatic chat history protection can be a problem. Whatsapp actually boasts that the chats on their messenger are all end-to-end encrypted. But if you save your chat history on iCloud, you lose this encryption. The reason is that chats, as soon as they are downloaded to iCloud, fall under the responsibility of Apple. It’s the same with Google Drive. If someone has unauthorized access to iCloud or Google Drive, they also have free access to their chat history.

If you want to change the settings for cloud storage in Whatsapp, you can do it directly in the app. The desired cloud storage can be selected under the menu item «Backup chat». The backup frequency can also be set here, from daily to never.

Another problem may arise if the user has specified that the images and videos sent are automatically saved on the smartphone. In fact, similar to a Trojan horse, images can contain malicious code that allows hackers to access the phone if the photo is placed in the images folder.

Viewing images within the messaging service is generally harmless. If you want to prevent photos or videos from being saved directly to your phone, you can change it in the settings. The “Save to recordings” function can be deactivated under the “Chat” menu item.

Whatsapp has also recently introduced the function that allows you to send messages that delete themselves after seven days. This is often cited as an advantage when sending private information that the sender does not want the recipient to have permanent access to.

In fact, this function does not prevent the recipient from forwarding received messages or storing them in any other way. If such a message is forwarded to a chat where auto-deleting messages are disabled, the message remains after the deadline has expired. The message will also appear in the chat backup if it is saved before the message is deleted. And of course a message can always be saved as a screenshot.

So, if you want to be absolutely sure that your chats are end-to-end encrypted, that no Trojans find their way to your smartphone, and that your contacts don’t forward or save any private information, it’s best to disable the mentioned features and don’t send sensitive data via chat app.