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    WhatsApp releases new security features to protect users’ IP addresses

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    WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world and users mainly prefer it because of its ease of use as well as strong privacy features. This summer, WhatsApp added a new privacy feature that allows users to silence unknown callers. The messaging app now has a new setting to hide your girlfriend’s IP address from others during calls.

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    Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, today announced that users will now be able to “protect their IP address during calls” to make their WhatsApp calls even more secure.

    Security protection for WhatsApp calls

    “Protect your IP address during calls” helps you hide your location from others during calls.

    whatsapp

    Currently, WhatsApp calls are relayed peer-to-peer or via WhatsApp servers, whichever provides the best call quality. Peer-to-peer connections are preferred by most calling products because they allow faster data transfer and better call quality, but the connections reveal the IP addresses of both parties.

    WhatsApp users will now be able to enable the “Protect IP Address During Calls” feature in their settings to ensure that all calls go through WhatsApp’s relay servers instead of direct peer-to-peer connections. This prevents callers from seeing each other’s IP addresses or knowing their geographic location.

    WhatsApp calls, like messages, are end-to-end encrypted, so WhatsApp cannot listen to your calls, even if they go through a relay server rather than a peer-to-peer connection.

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    Earlier this year, Meta announced a “Silence Unknown Callers” feature that allows more privacy-minded users to silence unwanted calls. The new ability to protect your IP address is another way to make your calls more secure.

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