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WhatsApp announced three important new account security features today: a stronger two-step verification password, more context for calls from unknown numbers, and support for multiple passkeys on one account. Together, they provide helpful safety and usability updates for WhatsApp's more than three billion global users.
For years, WhatsApp has used a six-digit PIN for two-step verification, protecting accounts against SIM swaps and password-reset attacks. But a six-digit number gives an attacker a limited set of combinations to guess or brute-force. Meta says it's finally upgrading that PIN to "a full password: longer, alphanumeric, and even with special characters.", offering users stronger protection against account takeovers.
On Android, WhatsApp is also adding context to calls from numbers not in your contacts. You'll be notified whether the call is from a different country than your own and whether you have any group chats in common with the caller. Many impersonation scams on WhatsApp start with a call from an unfamiliar international number, and this should help reduce their frequency.
The app is also expanding passkey support so you can register more than one passkey per account, which is useful if you use WhatsApp on both a phone and tablet or on multiple computers. Passkeys let you log in with your device's fingerprint or face unlock instead of typing a password, and WhatsApp says more than a billion people already use one. To add a passkey, go to Settings> Account> Passkeys.
Read more: The best password (and passkey) managers to protect your accounts
Meta's announcement doesn't provide a specific rollout schedule or indicate whether these features are live for all users today or are arriving in phases. I see the options for multiple passkeys and complex passwords on my iOS account, but haven't personally confirmed whether the unknown number feature for Android phones is active. If you don't see the new password option or multiple passkey feature, update your app and check back.
