WhatsApp rolled out Strict Account Settings, a lockdown-style mode that blocks unknown attachments, disables link previews, and silences unknown callers.

Meta is rolling out new security features for WhatsApp designed to protect high-risk users—journalists, activists, and government officials, for example—from cyber attacks. Strict Account Settings is a lockdown-style mode that builds on the platform's end-to-end encryption with stronger privacy features and restrictions against unknown contacts.

WhatsApp has introduced a new lockdown-style “Strict Account Settings” mode to give users stronger protection from unknown senders, malicious links, and targeted attacks.

Meta's WhatsApp messaging service is offering users an advanced security mode, joining a growing number of U.S. tech firms that are letting users opt into stronger protections against hackers in exchange for a more restrictive experience.