The concern for security and privacy in the use of applications is increasing, so it is natural that more than one user has wondered what the notification of change of your security code means in WhatsApp . These security codes mean that every conversation you have open on WhatsApp, as well as all the files that are exchanged, are end-to-end encrypted.
On its FAQ page , WhatsApp clarifies why these changes occur to prevent users from being alarmed. Usually, this change occurs when the user reinstalls WhatsApp or has changed their phone number. The same happens when the one who has carried out this process is your contact.
HOW TO SEE THE WHATSAPP SECURITY CODE
In the event that a user wonders how to see the WhatsApp security code , he only has to enter a conversation with one of his contacts (individual, not a group chat) and click on the icon with three dots that appears in the top right of the screen. In that drop-down menu, we will have to access ‘View contact’ and then click on ‘Encryption’. You will see below a QR code and a sequence of 60 digits. This code is the same for you and your contact, although it is not the key that gives access to your conversation, which is kept secret.
YOU CHANGED YOUR SECURITY CODE WITH A CONTACT, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
When a notification has been received that your security code has changed with a contact, what does it mean? The messaging application owned by Meta clarifies on its website that this is not a cause for alarm for the user . The only thing that changes is the encryption code for a given conversation, which is what protects members of the conversation from making that content accessible to outsiders.
Although this should not pose any concern for the user, who can ignore the message without major problems, many people who use WhatsApp in their day to day have received this message in recent days, something for which Meta does not yet have an official response .
However, these notifications can be disabled . On the screen that we see when we open the application, click on the icon with three dots in the upper right part of the screen and access ‘Settings’. Next, we click on ‘Account’ and enter ‘Security’. In this new menu we will have to deactivate the ‘Show security notifications’ tab to prevent that every time a contact of ours changes their number or mobile phone the message that the security code has changed.
HOW TO CHANGE THE ENCRYPTION OF WHATSAPP
Those interested in modifying this security code and how to change the encryption of WhatsApp should know that there is no manual way to do it. Encryption is something that is active by default for all users as a security measure and can only be changed in two ways, all of them automatic by WhatsApp and not at the will of the user who wants to change it.
The first is to reinstall WhatsApp , the easiest way to change the security code, although at the price that you may lose some conversations if you have not previously made a backup.
You can also use your WhatsApp account temporarily from another phone . When you enter your phone number in WhatsApp from the new terminal, the application will send you a verification code that you will have to enter, and that will cause the security code to change.