WhatsApp unveils anti-spyware ‘lockdown’ feature
WhatsApp is rolling out a new security feature designed to block spyware, the company announced on Tuesday.
The feature, called Strict Account Settings, will block attachments and media from people not in a user’s contacts list. It is designed for journalists and public-facing individuals who “may be targets of rare and sophisticated cyber attacks, and therefore might need extreme safeguards,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.
The platform refers to Strict Account Settings as a “lockdown-style feature.” Apple introduced its own version of a lockdown setting, which restricts a device's features for security purposes, in July 2022 in an attempt to thwart spyware attacks.
In the blog post, WhatsApp highlighted a 2019 spyware attack during which some 1,400 of its users were targeted with the NSO Group’s powerful zero-click Pegasus commercial surveillance tool.
In December, a federal judge ruled that NSO Group can never again use WhatsApp infrastructure for spyware attacks. The company is fighting the injunction and says the order could bankrupt it.
The new WhatsApp feature will roll out gradually in the coming weeks, they said.
Suzanne Smalley
is a reporter covering digital privacy, surveillance technologies and cybersecurity policy for The Record. She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop. Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek. She lives in Washington with her husband and three children.