WhatsApp rolls out 'Two-Step Verification' for everyone; Here is why it is important

Finally, WhatsApp is rolling out an update that adds Two-Step Authentication to your WhatsApp account. This feature is an essential method to ensure the safety of your WhatsApp account. WhatsApp had been internally testing this feature since the last few months to finalise the exact implementation of the security countermeasure with reports going back to July last year. This feature was previously only limited to beta users on Android but the company is now rolling out this feature for all the users on Android. One thing to note is that iOS devices in our office have not received the update at the time of writing.

Two-Step Authentication, named as “Two-step verification” is located under the Account section on the main “Settings” menu. This adds a passcode to your WhatsApp account which is required for every time you register your contact number with WhatsApp number. The setup process is simple where you only need to tap on the option and follow the instructions. The setup asks you to enter a six-digit passcode and verifies the code. It also gives you the option to enter an email address as a backup to reset the passcode if you forget the passcode or misplace it.

You can skip entering the email address but skipping a backup method is not recommended as losing the passcode will lock you out of your WhatsApp account. Once the setup process is completed, the “Two-step Verification” gives you easy options to ‘Disable’, ‘Change passcode’ or ‘Change email address’. This security feature ensures that people won’t register using your mobile number in case you lose your SIM card. The presence of ‘Two-step verification’ will ensure that there is no chance for people to impersonate you in case you lose access to your SIM card or mobile number. You can check other interesting things that one can do while using WhatsApp.