New WhatsApp lockdown feature protects high-risk users from hackers

Meta is rolling out WhatsApp’s “Strict Account Settings,” an optional lockdown-style mode for high-risk users that enforces maximum privacy and security by auto-enabling 2FA, blocking media and calls from unknowns, disabling link previews, hiding presence/profile info, and limiting potentially risky features; it can only be enabled from the primary device and will roll out gradually. Meta also notes a behind-the-scenes migration to Rust for added protection, and frames the feature in response to past sophisticated zero-click spyware attacks (e.g., Pegasus, Paragon Graphite) while paralleling Apple’s Lockdown Mode.