Whatsapp announced the launch of new security features, which will be added to the platform in the coming months.

In an announcement blog post, WhatsApp introduced three additional ways to help users secure their accounts: Account Protect, Device Verification, and Automatic Security Codes. Users have to bear in mind that these are additional measures to enhance the security of their WhatsApp account, which can already be protected by existing two-factor authentication and end-to-end encrypted backups.

Your privacy remains our priority. To better protect our users, we’re rolling out 🆕 security features that give you more layers of privacy and more control over your messages 🔒Check the 🧵 below to see the new account defense updates. April 13, 2023

The Account Protect feature primarily helps secure the account when users switch devices. To cross-verify the authenticity of the user trying to move devices, the messaging service might first ask users to verify themselves from the older devices that they've signed WhatsApp on.

"Once malware is present on user devices, attackers can use the malware to capture the authentication key and use it to impersonate the victim to send spam, scams, phishing attempts, etc. to other potential victims."

According to the team, Device Verification can let it recognize these situations and "protect the user's account without interruption." The team claims that this method cannot be "impersonated by malware," which typically has the ability to steal the authentication key and make attempts to transmit messages from a location other than the users' device.

The Device Verification feature has been rolled out to WhatsApp users on Android devices, and iOS users will likely join in the coming days, as it's currently in the rollout process.

Lastly, the Automatic Security Code feature makes the current security code verification feature on WhatsApp easier and more accessible. Whatsapp is introducing a new "Key Transparency" feature that allows users to verify that they've established a secured connection automatically.

"What it means for you is that when you click on the encryption tab, you'll be able to verify right away that your personal conversation is secured."