Conducting your sales via WhatsApp securely is always a concern. After all, this is the favorite way for many Brazilians to communicate with companies.
According to recent research, the app is present on 99% of smartphones in the country. While new opportunities for conducting online sales arise, the risks of fraud during transactions also increase.
WhatsApp has done its part. Since 2016, all conversations are end-to-end encrypted. This means that only the people involved in the chat can access the shared information. Not even WhatsApp can read or collect data from the sent messages.
Encryption is important, but it is not enough. Therefore, you should analyze some important points regarding data security on WhatsApp. Below, highlighted, are some relevant information and tips.
1 – What information is collected by WhatsApp.
To improve your sales system via WhatsApp, it is interesting to know what information is collected by the app. Many people have no idea about this. Since WhatsApp is part of the Facebook Group, much of this data is shared with the social network and also with other apps from the company, such as Instagram.
Today, many functions between these apps end up being unified. Recently, the company allowed Instagram users to respond to Facebook Messenger contacts without leaving the app. According to the company, these messages are also encrypted and no one has access to them.
Much of the information collected by WhatsApp relates to user behavior. The company's privacy policy indicates that some data includes the time, frequency, and duration of conversations. Additionally, the company collects secondary information, such as issues with the app, location, and when the user is online or not.
2 – Do not make backups.
It is natural for customers or even yourself to approach sales via WhatsApp during negotiations. All these contacts end up being stored in each of the app's profiles. However, for your safety, experts recommend not backing up this information.
Through this storage, it is easier to transfer information from one phone to another. The danger lies exactly at this point. Conversations are encrypted, but the data saved in the backup is not. Therefore, if it is accessed by someone else, on Google Drive or Apple’s cloud, those messages can be easily read.
In this scenario, the best thing to do is to disable the backup of this shared content on WhatsApp. Unfortunately, there is not much evidence that the company's security system is that reliable.
3 – Be careful with your personal information.
Many entrepreneurs use messaging apps to answer customer questions, especially in post-sales via WhatsApp. It is a way to provide quick and efficient service. Unfortunately, there are many scammers operating in the digital realm. Even through software, they try to capture personal data from entrepreneurs.
To avoid problems, the best thing to do is to limit how others interact with your profile. Since many people use groups to communicate, a simple measure is to change your settings for joining these chat rooms. This way, whenever you are invited to a group, WhatsApp will send a notification asking if you are really interested in participating.
In this way, you only join groups with people you really know. You can also create a WhatsApp Business account and integrate it with a CRM platform. Besides being safer, as it is a corporate profile account, the CRM software also offers extra protections for your sales via WhatsApp.
4 – Do not click on unknown links.
Those who have a sales system via WhatsApp probably receive numerous messages from unknown numbers. Often, scammers try to deceive entrepreneurs with fake news. One of the most common cases, for example, is informing the business owner or small merchant that they need to regularize some pending situation with Caixa Econômica. At the end of the message, there is always a link to a page where the problem can be resolved.
In fact, these virtual criminals use this link to collect personal and banking information from people. Therefore, never access any page sent by an unknown person. If in doubt, call the financial institution or any other company mentioned in the message.
5 – Going to use WhatsApp on PC? Use the app.
It is tempting to promote your sales via WhatsApp using a PC. Undoubtedly, especially when integrated with a CRM, WhatsApp becomes a sales machine. However, it is necessary to take some precautions when using it on the desktop version.
If you use it without the CRM, it is very important to download the app for your computer and set aside WhatsApp Web. According to data security experts, most cyberattacks and information collection occur through this cloud version of the app.
Therefore, it is highly recommended that you install the app on your computer and use it today to conduct your sales via WhatsApp.
