Armagh Cricket Club: Your WhatsApp Privacy and Security Guide
A practical guide for all club members, junior parents, and the wider ACC community
Armagh Cricket Club: Your WhatsApp Privacy and Security Guide
A practical guide for all club members, junior parents, and the wider ACC community
In 2026, WhatsApp is at the heart of how Armagh Cricket Club communicates.
From senior squad updates and training reminders to junior parents’ groups and committee discussions, almost everything runs through it.
BUT, most of us set up WhatsApp years ago and have never looked at the privacy settings since.
Over time, your phone number has likely been shared across multiple group chats with people you barely know, your profile picture may be visible to complete strangers, and a number of quiet security gaps may have opened up without you realising.
The good news is that fixing all of this takes less than ten minutes. Here is everything you need to check - explained in plain language with the exact steps to follow on your phone.
📋 Armagh CC WhatsApp Security Checklist
🔵 Setting 1 - Turn On Two-Step Verification
The single most important WhatsApp security setting - and the one most people haven’t enabled.
Two-step verification adds a personal PIN to your WhatsApp account. Without it, anyone who gets access to your SIM card or phone number can register your WhatsApp account on a new device and lock you out completely. With it enabled, they cannot - even with your SIM in their hand.
How to enable it:
📱 Settings → Account → Two-step verification → Turn On
Choose a six-digit PIN you will remember and add a backup email address. WhatsApp will occasionally ask you to enter your PIN to keep it fresh in your memory.
⚠️ Do not forget your PIN. If you lose access to your account and cannot remember it, recovery is very difficult without the backup email.
🔵 Setting 2 - Control Who Can Add You to Groups
Particularly relevant for club members whose numbers have been shared across multiple WhatsApp groups.
By default, anyone on WhatsApp who has your number can add you to a group without asking your permission first. Changing this to contacts only means only people you have saved in your phone can add you directly - everyone else must send you a private invite first, which you can accept or decline.
How to change it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → Groups → My Contacts
This is especially worth setting if your number has been shared widely through club groups over the years.
🔵 Setting 3 - Limit Who Sees Your Profile Picture
By default, your profile picture is visible to anyone who has your number - even complete strangers.
If your number has ever appeared in a group chat alongside people you don’t know personally, those people can see your profile picture. Limiting this to your contacts only is a simple but effective layer of privacy.
How to change it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → Profile Photo → My Contacts
You can also exclude specific contacts from seeing your picture within this setting, which is useful if you want extra control.
⭐ WhatsApp also has a feature that prevents others from taking a screenshot of your profile picture - this is enabled automatically and cannot be turned off by other users.
🔵 Setting 4 - Hide Your Phone Number With a Username
A relatively new WhatsApp feature that is being gradually rolled out to all users.
WhatsApp was originally built around phone numbers, which is why your number gets shared every time you appear in a group. A new username feature now allows people who are not in your contacts to see a username instead of your phone number - giving you an extra layer of anonymity in larger group chats.
How to enable it:
📱 Settings → Profile → Username
Note that your phone number will still be visible to people you have saved as contacts - the username only applies to people outside your contacts list.
⚠️ This feature is still being rolled out and may not be available on all devices yet.
🔵 Setting 5 - Protect Your IP Address in Calls
Relevant if you regularly make or receive WhatsApp calls.
When you make a WhatsApp call, it connects directly between your device and the other person’s device - what is known as a peer-to-peer connection. This means your IP address, which can be used to approximate your location, could potentially be visible to the person you are calling if they are using network analysis tools.
Enabling this setting routes your calls through WhatsApp’s own servers instead, masking your IP address completely.
How to enable it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → Advanced → Protect IP address in calls
⚠️ This may slightly reduce call audio quality and increase data usage as a trade-off.
🔵 Setting 6 - Disable Link Previews
A small but worthwhile privacy adjustment.
When someone sends you a link on WhatsApp, your phone automatically generates a preview of that website - the title, image, and description that appears below the link. Generating that preview requires your device to make a request to the website behind the link, which can expose your IP address in the process.
Turning off link previews stops this from happening. Links will still be clickable - they will just appear as plain text without the preview image.
How to disable it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → Advanced → Disable link previews
⚠️ Links become slightly less informative without previews, but the privacy benefit is worth it for most users.
🔵 Setting 7 - Control Your Last Seen and Online Status
One of the most commonly adjusted WhatsApp settings - and for good reason.
By default, anyone can see when you were last active on WhatsApp and whether you are currently online. Turning this off gives you the freedom to use the app on your own terms without feeling pressure to respond immediately - particularly useful during match days, training sessions, or family time.
How to change it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → Last Seen and Online
You can set this separately for everyone, your contacts only, or specific contacts. You can also hide your current online status entirely.
⚠️ If you hide your own last seen and online status, you will no longer be able to see other people’s either.
🔵 Setting 8 - Review Your Read Receipts
The blue tick - and whether others can see when you have read their messages.
Read receipts are the two blue ticks that appear when you have read a message. Turning them off means your ticks will remain grey even after you have read a message, giving you more privacy around when and whether you have seen something.
How to change it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → Read Receipts → toggle off
⚠️ Turning off read receipts also means you will not be able to see when others have read your messages. Note that read receipts cannot be disabled for group chats - they will always show in groups regardless of this setting.
🔵 Setting 9 - Lock WhatsApp With Face ID or Fingerprint
An essential setting if you ever hand your phone to someone else.
WhatsApp can be locked behind your phone’s biometric security - Face ID or fingerprint - so that even if someone picks up your unlocked phone, they cannot open WhatsApp without your face or fingerprint. You can set a timer for how quickly the lock activates after you leave the app.
How to enable it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → App Lock → toggle on
This is particularly worth enabling if you have sensitive club information, committee discussions, or personal conversations in your WhatsApp.
🔵 Setting 10 - Check Which Apps Have Access to Your WhatsApp Data
A broader phone-level check worth doing while you are at it.
While you are reviewing your WhatsApp settings, it is worth taking two minutes to check which apps on your phone have access to your contacts, microphone, and camera. Many apps request these permissions during installation and never need them again.
On iPhone:
📱 Settings → Privacy & Security → then check Contacts, Microphone, and Camera individually
On Android:
📱 Settings → Apps → then select individual apps and check Permissions
Remove access from any app that does not genuinely need it.
A Note on WhatsApp’s Strict Account Settings
For anyone who wants the maximum possible level of protection - or if you are a club official who handles sensitive member information - WhatsApp now offers a Strict Account Settings mode.
Enabling this automatically applies the most secure version of every setting: it blocks media and attachments from unknown contacts, disables link previews, silences calls from strangers, and hides your last seen and online status.
How to enable it:
📱 Settings → Privacy → Advanced → Strict Account Settings
⚠️ This mode is feature-limited and is primarily designed for public figures or anyone who feels at particular risk. For most club members, applying the individual settings above will be more than sufficient.
A Final Word
None of these changes are complicated and most take less than thirty seconds each. Working through the full list should take you no more than ten minutes - but the privacy and security benefit lasts indefinitely.
WhatsApp is an outstanding communication tool for a club like ours, and we want every member, parent, and supporter to feel safe and confident using it.
If you have any questions about any of these settings, feel free to ask at training or get in touch through the club’s usual channels.
Stay safe online - and we’ll see you at The Mall! 🏏
Disclaimer
Please note that WhatsApp settings, menu locations, and available features may vary depending on your device, operating system, and the version of WhatsApp you have installed. The steps outlined in this guide are accurate at the time of publication but may change as WhatsApp updates its app. Armagh Cricket Club accepts no responsibility for any changes to WhatsApp’s settings or features that occur after publication.
This guide is provided for informational purposes only. For the most up to date security advice, visit WhatsApp’s official Help Centre at faq.whatsapp.com
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