WhatsApp's default settings are designed for openness, not for your privacy. Anyone who has your number — including people you have never met — can often see your profile photo, your "last seen", your About line, and can add you to random groups. Here are the 9 settings to change, in the order that matters most.

All steps: open WhatsApp → Settings → Privacy (on iPhone: Settings tab → Privacy).

1. Last seen and online — set to "My contacts" or "Nobody"

Privacy → Last seen and online. Choose My Contacts (or Nobody), and set "Who can see when I'm online" to Same as last seen. Note the trade: if you hide yours, you cannot see others' last seen either — that is WhatsApp's fair rule.

2. Profile photo — contacts only

Privacy → Profile photo → My Contacts. This stops strangers, scammers and random group members from saving and misusing your photo — especially important for family photos used as DP.

3. About and Status — limit them too

Set About → My Contacts. For Status, choose "My contacts except…" and remove people you do not want seeing daily updates, or use "Only share with" for a close list.

4. Groups — stop anyone adding you

Privacy → Groups → My Contacts (or "My contacts except…"). Now strangers cannot drag you into crypto, prize and spam groups — they must send an invite you can ignore. This one setting also cuts most group-scam exposure.

Scam shield: Most WhatsApp scams start with an unknown number or a random group. Settings 2, 3 and 4 together mean a scammer sees no photo, no status, and cannot add you anywhere — most move on to an easier target.

5. Turn ON two-step verification — the most important one

Settings → Account → Two-step verification → Turn on. Set a 6-digit PIN and add your email. Now even if someone gets your SMS code (SIM swap, social engineering), they cannot register your WhatsApp on their phone without this PIN. Never share this PIN with anyone — WhatsApp will never ask for it in a chat.

6. Lock WhatsApp with fingerprint / Face ID

Privacy → Fingerprint lock / Screen lock → On. Anyone holding your unlocked phone still cannot open your chats. Set it to lock "Immediately" for real protection.

7. Read receipts — your choice, know the trade

Turning off Read receipts hides your blue ticks — but you also stop seeing others'. It does not apply to group chats or voice-message plays, which always show.

8. Disappearing messages for sensitive chats

Open a chat → contact name → Disappearing messages → 24 hours / 7 days. You can also set a default timer for all new chats in Privacy → Default message timer. Remember: the other person can still screenshot — disappearing is not secrecy.

9. Review blocked contacts and linked devices

Once a month: check Privacy → Blocked (block numbers that spam you) and Linked devices in Settings — log out any session you do not recognise immediately. An unknown linked device means someone is reading your chats live.

Never do this: Never forward a 6-digit WhatsApp code or your two-step PIN to anyone claiming to be "WhatsApp support", a bank, or a prize company. Real WhatsApp support never messages you asking for codes — that message is the account-theft attempt.
Read also: Deleted a WhatsApp chat? Recover messages with or without backup →

Frequently asked questions

If I hide my last seen, can I see others' last seen?

No. WhatsApp applies it both ways: hiding your last seen and online status also hides everyone else's from you. Profile photo and About settings do not have this trade-off.

What happens if I forget my two-step verification PIN?

If you added an email, WhatsApp can send a reset link to it. Without the email, you may have to wait 7 days before you can re-verify your number without the PIN — so adding the email in step 5 is essential.

Can someone read my WhatsApp from another phone without me knowing?

Only via Linked devices (WhatsApp Web/Desktop) or by registering your number with your codes. Check Linked devices regularly and keep two-step verification on — together they close both doors.