In April of 2021, Forbes (opens in new tab) reported on a security vulnerability that enabled hackers to access a WhatsApp account just by knowing the account holder’s phone number. WhatsApp’s large user base makes it a primary target of scams, and the service has been subjected to several high-profile hacks and security vulnerabilities. This may be enough to turn off the extremely security-minded. While WhatsApp does not share your personal messages, your shared locations, or your contacts with Facebook, they do share your account details, like your name and IP address. However, there are still some security concerns, primarily because WhatsApp is owned by Facebook. Only you and the person you’re messaging can see what you send. WhatsApp boasts that it uses end-to-end encryption, meaning it doesn’t store or log your messages. WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption to protect your messages (Image credit: WhatsApp) Security One annoyance for small business owners is that you cannot use the same phone number for both a WhatsApp and a WhatsApp Business account, meaning you will need to create a separate phone number if you want to use both. On WhatsApp Business, you can set up a business profile with hours and contact information, create a catalog of products and services, and set up automatic replies to give customers quick responses.

WhatsApp Business users can link their WhatsApp to their business’s Facebook and Instagram pages, giving customers an easy way to ask questions or schedule services. WhatsApp has a Wi-Fi-based voice and video call feature, which is useful to replace expensive international phone calls or if you have a cellular data plan that limits your calling minutes.

Unlike traditional text messaging, WhatsApp users can set a status like “at the movies” or “in a meeting,” letting other users know when they are unable to respond. A big draw of WhatsApp is the ability to create group chats of up to 256 people, letting you chat with the entire family or easily send the latest quarterly report to your whole team. Just like regular text messaging, you can also attach photos, send voice memos, share documents up to 100 MB, or even drop a pin of your location. WhatsApp enables users to send encrypted messages over Wi-Fi to any other WhatsApp user. WhatsApp offers the standard features you’d expect from text messaging, but over Wi-Fi (Image credit: WhatsApp) Features

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