Your Top Safety Tips for using Messaging Apps

As well as being private spaces for chatting and sharing, messaging apps are widely used as social media platforms in their own right. But unlike Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn, communications are completely ‘closed’ between senders and recipients, so they can be used to chat or share confidentially with individuals or groups. There are, however, risks to using any messaging app

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• Use strong passwords that are unique to your messaging platform.

• Always enable 2FA (Two-Step Authentication) to add an extra layer of security.

• Avoid problems by always being careful to select individuals or groups you actually intend to chat, message or share with.

• Be aware of what you share, especially information or opinions which could prove harmful to others or yourself.

• Be wary of attempts at fraud, such as:

  • Requests for money or confidential information (like bank account details) from fraudsters posing as your family members or friends. They often gain your trust beforehand by claiming they’ve changed their phone number. Always call on the number you have stored to check in person.

  • Messages which contain malicious links to fraudulent websites or malware.

  • Messages claiming to be from the app’s support team, requesting your login details or verification code.

• Be aware that the companies who own messaging apps store and can share your personal information and usage data.