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How to know your whatsapp has been hacked


How to Check If Someone Else Is Accessing Your WhatsApp Account [2022]

Whatsapp is a popular and one of the most downloaded messaging applications. The users in this platform continue to increase and with more users, that means they have to tighten their security.

Whatsapp already has a few additional security measures that they have put in place to prevent other individuals from accessing your account such as the Two-Factor authentication feature that they have.

Despite Whatsapp’s attempt at securing our privacy, there are still individuals out there who try to do their best to be able to access other people’s Whatsapp accounts. There are multiple reasons as to why they do this but we want to help you find out the telltales or signs to check if someone else can access your account.

Part 1: Signs Your Account is Compromised

Part 1: Signs Your Account is Compromised

If you notice any weird activities or behaviors in your Whatsapp account, then you will have a suspicion that someone else can access your Whatsapp account. We will share with you some telltale signs that your account has been compromised or that someone else can access your account.

  • Sign# 1: Your friends have told you that they received spam or phishing links from your Whatsapp account. Hackers who have access to other people’s Whatsapp accounts tend to send a lot of spam to that user’s contact lists.
  • Sign# 2: You received random messages from contacts that you did not add yourself. Hackers will sometimes add other contacts using your Whatsapp account and if you receive any messages from a contact you are unaware of, someone else may be accessing your Whatsapp account.
  • Sign# 3: Your contact information was changed. While looking through your profile, you noticed that there were some changes to your account details. For example, they could have changed your display photo, your name, or your status.

Part 2: How to Tell If Someone Else Is Using Your WhatsApp Account?

Now that you have your suspicion that someone has hacked into your Whatsapp account, you can try the numerous tips that we will share below to double-check whether your account has been accessed by someone else.

Tip# 1: Check your contacts for any new friends

A sign that your account could have been accessed by someone else is that there are new friends added to your contact list that you do not know of. You can go to your contacts and check to see who are the ones you did not add or is unheard of. If there are any new friends that you did not add yourself, then there is a possibility that someone else has access to your Whatsapp account.

Tip# 2: Check your chat messages

Check your recent chat messages and see if there are any messages that you do not remember sending yourself. By checking this, you will be able to know if someone else is trying to send any messages to your contacts without your knowledge.

Tip# 3: Check your Whatsapp Web

If you have already checked your contacts and messages but still suspect that someone else is able to access your Whatsapp account, you can try to see if the hacker is using your Whatsapp Web. Follow the steps below to check your Whatsapp Web:

  • Step 1: Go to “Settings” which is located as three dots on the upper right of the screen.  
  • Step 2: Then, select “Whatsapp Web” from the options. If your camera opens, it means that no one has access to your Whatsapp Web and it will ask you the scan the QR code that is generated from the Whatsapp Web on your computer.
  • Step 3: Scan the QR code that is generated in your browser and you should be able to log in to WhatsApp on WhatsApp Web.

Tip# 4: Check your contact information

Another way to check whether you have been hacked is to check if they have updated your profile information. You can check this by going to “Settings” and selecting “Profile”. From there, you can review and check the accuracy of the information for your Whatsapp account.

Part 3: How to Secure Your WhatsApp Account?

Now that you have checked your Whatsapp account using the tips we shared. There are only two possibilities after your investigation. First would be that your Whatsapp account has been hacked and try to change your password immediately as soon as you find out. However, the other possibility is that no one can access to your account and during this time, you can still have additional security for your Whatsapp account to prevent someone else from accessing it by enabling a Two-Factor Authentication. Here are the steps to enable this additional security.

  • Step 1: Open Whatsapp and go to the “Settings”.
  • Step 2: Then, you can tap on “Account”.
  • Step 3: After, choose “Two-step Verification” and make sure that you tap on “Enabled”. 
  • Step 4: They will then ask you to type a 6-Digit PIN code and then, you can tap on “Next”.

Once you finished setting up the Two-Factor Authentication, you will then be asked to type the 6-Digit PIN code every time you open your Whatsapp. This will give you more security and feel more at ease that no one can access your account aside from yourself

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Conclusion

We hope that all of these tips have been very helpful in checking whether your Whatsapp account has been compromised. Make sure to also enable the Two-Factor Authentication for additional security of your account.

Recommended reading: Samsung vs. Apple iPhone: Which Phones Are More Secure and Why?

New Trendings

My WhatsApp Hacked? Here's What You Should Know

Whatsapp’s current popularity is possible as it was the first mobile application to offer free messaging to all of its users. This attracted a lot of users to register their mobile numbers on Whatsapp without needing any other information and make signing up a seamless process. They have also added a lot of features over the years that the users love to use and also inspired other messaging platforms to add to their interface.

With so many people using Whatsapp, it has also become a target for some hackers to hack into other people’s Whatsapp accounts. We understand how big of a nightmare it is if your account has been compromised. So we will share with you how you can check if your account has been hacked and what the next steps will be.

Part 1: How to know if you've been hacked?

Being hacked is a scary thing and a great violation of your privacy. However, if you want to determine whether you have been hacked, there will be tell-tale signs that will give you a suspicion that your account is hacked.

One sign that could be an indicator that you have been hacked is that you notice that your app is performing unusually. Unusual in the sense that you have been receiving a lot of alerts about password changes or any authentication requests when you know that you did not change anything on your app.

Another sign is that you notice new contacts that have been added to your list without your knowledge. For Whatsapp, it will add contacts once you sign in to a new device so if you have contacts that are unknown to you, there is a possibility that you have been hacked.

You can also check the messages that you have sent. If you see any message that you are sure you did not send, then there is a possibility your Whatsapp account is hacked.

Part 2: What should I do if my WhatsApp account has been hacked?

After checking your contacts, and messages, and getting a lot of notifications from Whatsapp, you are then sure that your Whatsapp account is hacked. We will share with you the next steps that you should do if you have been hacked.

  • Option 1: Reset Your Password

Make sure that as soon as you figure out that you have been hacked, immediately change the password to your Whatsapp. This will at least give you the security that they will not be able to access your account.

  • Option 2: Do Not Log Out and Log Back In

Hackers try to access your account by sending you verification codes so you can get locked out of your account. So when you receive the notification about the verification codes, it will be best to just ignore them and not log out at all.

  • Option 3: Inform your contacts

Once you have determined that you have been hacked, inform your contacts about it as hackers will try to reach out to your contacts and ask for the verification code for their accounts which will also lead to them being hacked. Let them know to not entertain any messages from you asking about any code.

Part 3: Tips to prevent your WhatsApp from getting hacked

Once you have determined that you have been or have not been hacked, you should do the needful to prevent any hacking incident to happen to you in the future. There are ways how you can prevent your Whatsapp account from being hacked. We will share them with you so you can be more careful when using your mobile.

  • Tip# 1: Do not open any unsuspicious links or messages from contacts that you do not know of.
  • Tip# 2: Avoid using public networks if possible as they are deemed unsafe to use.
  • Tip# 3: Change your password more frequently if you can.
  • Tip# 4: Enable the Two-Factor Authentication on your Whatsapp account for additional security of your account.
  • Tip# 5: Do not leave your phone unattended especially if you are out or in a public space.

Part 4: How to transfer WhatsApp data to my new phone securely?

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Conclusion

Being hacked is a scary situation that could happen to anyone. If you have a suspicion that you have been hacked, try all of the tips and suggestions we shared to determine whether you have been hacked. You have to also make sure that you have taken the necessary safety precautions on your side such as changing your passwords or enabling the “Two-Factor Authentication” in Whatsapp as an additional layer of security for your account.

Recommended reading: Samsung vs. Apple iPhone: Which Phones Are More Secure and Why?

New Trendings

5 signs that someone is reading your Whatsapp conversation and remains invisible

How to read other people's Whatsapp messages from your phone

After a series of updates, Whatsapp received an important feature - the ability to work on multiple devices at the same time. A new opportunity was created for convenience, but it was immediately used for criminal purposes. In Europe and the United States, there are cases when attackers, under the guise of a request for a call, take the victim’s device, scan a special QR code and gain access to the correspondence. The psychological technique works mainly with women and teenagers, but the end of the story is the same for everyone - extortion, theft of intimate photos and the threat to reveal the most intimate secrets to relatives or colleagues. The easiest way to close such a vulnerability is not to give outsiders (and relatives too) your device for a long time or set a password to launch the application. nine0004

How to hack Whatsapp and how to protect it from surveillance

Photo © Shutterstock

Determining that someone else has access to your account is quite simple. You need to go to "Settings" and go to "Associated devices". This menu will show all the devices that use your account. They can be removed, leaving one, two or three reliable means of communication. One of the most vulnerable points of Whatsapp is the so-called "floating" widget - a utility (add-on) for an Android application. The attackers copy the original widgets - a special "floating" algorithm is left inside the program, which does not show activity at the stage of checking the program by store administrators. The delayed activation mechanism starts working a couple of days after installation on the device. The main sign that something is not right with the phone is increased heating and an increase in traffic for Whatsapp. nine0004

Erase it immediately: 6 reasons to urgently remove WhatsApp from your phone

How to read deleted Whatsapp messages?

Reading deleted messages is another nuisance that can overtake a user after an outsider intercepts access to his device. The problem is that here the owners of Whatsapp got caught in their own lies. They used to state that a Whatsapp message is automatically deleted from the server as soon as the user deletes it from the device. But over time, it turned out that this is not so: messages are stored for some time both on the devices themselves and on the "third party" in case someone complains about it and the signal has to be responded to. The backdoor was opened by hackers who wrote an application for Android. Once installed on a smartphone, it made it possible to synchronize the messenger with a hacker program and penetrate the notification history, where all messages, including deleted ones, are visible. It is not known whether this vulnerability has been fixed at the moment, but one of the indirect signs that your deleted messages are being restored is their "revival" in the correspondence. At least, such symptoms are reported by foreign users. nine0004

Extensions

Photo © Shutterstock

Messenger extensions are popular exclusively with Android users. In the Apple ecosystem, such programs do not take root, and their verification by moderators before publication often leads to the removal and ban of "developers". Widgets for multitasking, cleaning Whatsapp memory and other third-party applications that require the right to synchronize with contacts and messenger conversations slow down Whatsapp in almost 100% of cases, and in the worst case, steal user data by taking screenshots and uploading data to unknown servers. Avoiding such a "leak" is easy - you should not install anything on your device other than the original Whatsapp. nine0004

Sending a chat by mail

One of the critical vulnerabilities of Whatsapp was its basic function. Through "sending a chat" you can upload all correspondence with any user to any mail. The program does not ask you to confirm this action - just select the addressee, and a letter with a complete archive of messages will be sent to his email inbox. Deleted text files will not be there, but the title will contain a phrase from the developers: "Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted. Third parties, including WhatsApp, cannot read your messages or listen to calls." And this is in correspondence, to which, it seems, no one has access. nine0004

Refuse immediately: Why you need to urgently delete WhatsApp from your phone

Why Whatsapp does not work and does not send messages

for hygienic reasons. But there are still symptoms of a real hack, which may be behind attackers with special skills. The first and most important is the delay in the network when downloading correspondence. If Whatsapp is installed on more than one device, it will take some time to download. This will be especially noticeable on older Android devices. Another important sign of a Whatsapp hack is sending one-time codes. If this happens, then you need to go to the menu and select the "sign out from all devices" function (similar to "end sessions" in Telegram) and then log in again. nine0004

Sergey Andreev

Evgeny Zhukov

  • Article
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • hack
  • Social networks and messengers
  • Science and technology

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How to know if someone is reading your WhatsApp conversations

If you have a fear that someone is reading your WhatsApp conversations , there is a way to find out if you are really being spied on. Below we will describe it in detail. nine0072

  • What is WhatsApp Web and how can you be spied on?
  • How to know if you are being followed
  • Block attacker access

What is WhatsApp Web and how can you be spied on?

WhatsApp Web is a desktop version of the application, which can be accessed on the website of the service.

To open the WhatsApp Web application for a computer for the first time, you need to scan the QR code that appears on the site with your smartphone. To do this, open Properties (Settings) of the WhatsApp application on your smartphone and select WhatsApp Web/Desktop :

A very important detail: by default, the system will activate the option Continue session . This means that as soon as you open your WhatsApp account in the browser of the desktop application, it will remain active even if you close the browser. You can completely close the application on your computer only if you go to its menu in the upper left corner of the browser and press Log out :

If you don't end your session on the desktop app, anyone with access to it can open the WhatsApp app and read all your conversations.

How to know if someone is following you

There is a way to find out if someone else has access to your conversations through the WhatsApp web application . To do this, go to menu Settings (gear icon) of the WhatsApp application on your phone and open option WhatsApp Web . A list of computers with currently open WhatsApp sessions will appear. In addition, here you will find information about the computer from which this session was launched, browser type, geographical location, and, most importantly, the date and time when the last login was made.

So you can, firstly, check when a session of your WhatsApp was opened, and secondly, find out if someone else accessed a session on your computer at the time when you did not connect. nine0004

This method can also be useful when you are away from your computer. On your smartphone, you can check if someone has accessed your WhatsApp conversations from a computer.

Block attacker's access

In case of a suspicious connection, it is best to log out directly on the phone. It is not possible to close a specific computer session and leave others open, but you can select the option Close sessions on all devices (Log out from all devices), including the one from which your WhatsApp was accessed at some point.

Learn more