We use the phone and WhatsApp daily to send photos and videos to friends.. We even send each other work files when we shouldn’t. If you combine this practice with leaving one of the most common functions of the application, Rest assured they will eventually scam you.
In Spain, more than 33 million people use WhatsAppThis is why it has become the ideal context for cybercriminals to move freely.
Fraudsters take advantage of any mistake you make to steal your information with techniques such as: phishing. If you do not disable this feature from the app, you’re going to put yourself in danger even if you do everything right.
The WhatsApp Feature You Should Turn Off to Avoid Scams
The WhatsApp function we are talking about and that, as a general rule, everyone leaves activated is automatic downloads. This may seem like a convenient feature, since you don’t need to download a file when it arrives.
However, the dangers of enabling automatic downloads outweigh its benefits. For example, If a cybercriminal sends you a file containing a virus, it will be downloaded instantlyand it will be of no use to you if you have realized its fraudulent nature.
WhatsApp tries to filter unknown phones and spambut this does not always succeed. Therefore, any precaution you take will be welcome. In this case, All you have to do is deactivate the function and you can forget about the problem.
If you want to turn off automatic downloads in the app, just follow these simple steps:
- Click on WhatsApp settings option.
- Find the settings box and select the storage and data section.
- Choose not to download automatically.
Why disable WhatsApp auto-download?
Beyond security, there are other compelling reasons to disable automatic downloading of images and videos on WhatsApp.
- Mobile data usage– All media files consume resources when downloaded and you have no decision power.
- Storage control– Your device fills up with unnecessary files and will eventually use up the available space.
- Privacy Policy– You can prevent private or sensitive files from being sent to you without your consent. You protect not only yourself, but also others.
- Improved mobile performance– By disabling the feature, you reduce the amount of data that WhatsApp has to process. If you don’t do this, you’ll notice how your phone gradually becomes slower.
