As digital privacy becomes more and more important, WhatsApp is continuously improving its security features to help protect user data. The app has developed a host of new tools to provide users with greater privacy controls in 2025. Here are five essential privacy features that you should enable on WhatsApp to help protect your chats:

Key Highlights:

• Advanced Chat Privacy: Prevents chat histories being exported without permission, turns off automatic media downloads, and gives you good control over what you share and with whom. 
• Private Processing for AI features: Provides private processing for interactions with AI tools and ensures that Meta or third-party cannot access your data.  
• Disappearing Messages: Automatically deletes messages after a time period of your choice (24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days). This can help reduce the possibility of sensitive information lingering.   
• Two-Step Verification: Provides a second layer of security and requires a six-digit PIN when registering your phone number with WhatsApp again.
• Chat Lock with Biometric Authentication: Allows users to lock specific chats using fingerprint or facial recognition, ensuring that private conversations remain confidential.

In addition to the aspects described above, WhatsApp gives you more options to control who can add you to groups, who can see your online status, and the ability to leave groups without notifying all group members. These functions help users apply their privacy preferences. Don't forget, use these settings regularly to consistently take control of your privacy options. 

To set these features up, first go to WhatsApp Settings > Privacy, and you can continue to navigate through the available options regularly. Keeping these privacy settings up to date allows you to lead the way to a safer online experience and to embrace change without losing the essence of who you are.