WhatsApp: Safety. That’s the almost obsessive goal of today’s developers of leading mobile apps. Because today we live, up from constant hacks, cybercrimes and scams, things are wrong and any new security tool is well received. WhatsApp knows this, and that is why it has created a new way to authenticate you and ensure that you are the owner of the account you are using.
WhatsApp Flash Call
The guys at WABetaInfo found out to us last month that WhatsApp was developing a new security feature created to identify a phone number used in an app account. Called Flash Call, this tool allows you to automatically verify your phone number when you try to enter WhatsApp.
How does it work? WhatsApp will ask you for a new permission to access the call log of your mobile. If you give the app permission to do so, WhatsApp will automatically verify if you have received the call that would give you access to your WhatsApp account.
Why are they called flash calls? WhatsApp will call your phone number and then automatically end the call, checking if it is present in the call log, so it is really a quick call.
Only for Android, why?
As you can see in the screenshot, WhatsApp only makes use of this permission once to confirm that you have received the call, “it will not be used for other purposes and it is an optional function”. In fact, you can also decide not to use flash calls and answer the verification call normally as before, by selecting “Not now”.
This function is news again because it is already available for the messaging app, at least in its trial version. According to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp Beta update 2.21.11.7 has included Flash Calls among its new features, and anyone who is a WhatsApp Beta tester will be able to use it now.
