WhatsApp is now letting users add their email addresses to the chat app - but should you be giving this up to Meta so easily?
After all, this is the company that lost the data - including email addresses and phone numbers - of more than 500 million users to hackers, triggering a wave of email and SMS phishing attempts.
Many online services call on users to submit their email address, and while this can provide security benefits, there is a risk of this backfiring in the event of a data leak, like the one that Facebook suffered in 2021.
But additional security is precisely the reason WhatsApp is letting users submit their email addresses. Doing so gives users another way to verify themselves as the owner of a user account.
Up to now, users have used their phone number to log into the messenger. If you later set up WhatsApp on a new phone, you'll get an activation code by text message. But if you add your email address to WhatsApp, you can now also have this code sent by email.
But there's another purpose to adding an email address to WhatsApp: It can be used to protect your account with two-step authentication. WhatsApp offers this as a security measure against the unauthorised takeover of accounts.
This involves setting a six-digit PIN code that users must also enter when logging in. If you forget this PIN, you can reset the process using the email address you have stored.
The entry can be made in the settings under "account" and "email address" and WhatsApp says the email address you register is not visible to other users.
How to set up two-step authentication in WhatsApp:
- Open the settings in the app via the three-dot menu in the top right-hand corner
- In the "Account" section, select "two-step authentication" and press "turn on"
- Now enter a six-digit PIN. You will be asked for it regularly so that you don't forget it
- Now enter an email address. This can be used to reset the security measure if the PIN is forgotten. This step can also be skipped if you only want to use the PIN
- Finally, confirm your email address and select "Save" or "Done"
Note that the email address you enter won't be checked with a test email or confirmation, so be particularly careful when entering it.