Accounts · 4 min read
Make your WhatsApp much harder to steal
The six-digit PIN, the code scam, and the settings worth changing.
WhatsApp accounts are stolen with one trick: someone asks you to send them a code that just arrived. That code is your account.
Turn on two-step verification
Settings → Account → Two-step verification → Enable. Set a 6-digit PIN and add your email.
Why it matters: even if someone gets your text code, they cannot register your number without this PIN.
Never share a code
Not with a friend, not with "WhatsApp support", not with anyone. Real support never asks.
Check linked devices
Settings → Linked devices. Log out anything you don't recognise — that is how someone reads your chats from a laptop.
Worth changing
- Settings → Privacy → Last seen and online → My contacts.
- Settings → Privacy → Profile photo → My contacts.
- Settings → Privacy → Groups → My contacts (stops strangers adding you to scam groups).
- Settings → Chats → Chat backup → turn on end-to-end encrypted backup.
If your account is already taken
Register your number again from your own phone. You will get a fresh code, and that pushes the other person out. Then set the PIN straight away.