WhatsApp already has 14 years behind it and in this time it has gained both in users and in functions and complexity. What was initially an app to locate contacts in the phone book has evolved into a messaging platform with over 2,000 million users and which allows various forms of communication between them: messages, calls, videos Sharing calls, photos, videos, avatars, files of all kinds… there are few things one can ask of a messaging application that doesn’t have WhatsApp after so many years.
One of the keys to the Meta app’s success is how easy it is to use and how clear and accessible most of its options are presented. Another is the focus on privacy, but some that are important in this regard are not always known to most users. Among them, how to control which devices an account is being used on.
In its early years, WhatsApp was limited to a single device and tied to a phone number, making it impossible to access the account from elsewhere, but this began to change in 2015 with the arrival of WhatsApp Web and the ability to log in. Done. Simultaneously in another device.
Until 2021, use of WhatsApp Web required that the mobile with the WhatsApp account be turned on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the computer from which it is accessed. WhatsApp then became mobile independent and also got the multi-device function which allows you to log in with up to four more without the need to turn on the mobile. This year, the possibility of using the same WhatsApp account on two mobiles has come.
All of these options are convenient for the user, but they also open the door for the account to be used from another device without our knowledge. For example, because a session has been started in a browser and has not been closed when it ends.
To verify that this is not the case or that your account was not accessed by any other method on a different device, you will need to follow these steps:
- Open WhatsApp and click on the three horizontal dots icon.
- In the drop-down menu, select Paired devices. Here you will be shown all the sessions started by your account in addition to the ones you have activated on your mobile. You will be shown the last connection time of each of them and the type of browser or mobile from which it was accessed.
- If you see someone you don’t recognize, tap on them to log out and turn off access to your WhatsApp account.
