Government spying on journalists and activists is no secret. Israeli-made Pegasus software was used by Saudi Arabia to monitor journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s WhatsApp before he was killed. To prevent such incidents from happening again, WhatsApp is introducing a strict account settings mode today specifically for journalists and prominent figures who don’t want their conversations monitored.
Strict Account Settings will block file or media attachments sent by individuals who are not on a user’s address book. This will prevent more sophisticated cyberattacks such as installing malicious applications hidden in such files.
The stricter account settings feature will be rolled out in phases over the coming weeks. It can be accessed via Settings > Privacy > Advanced.
