Online PrivacyWhat is here
Two kinds of guide. Settings walk-throughs take you screen by screen through the privacy and security settings of the apps and devices most people in India use, naming the exact menu at each step. Safety guides explain one skill each: reading a web address, making passwords you can live with, what to do when a phone is lost or your details leak, and how to keep children safe.
A sensible order
You do not need to do everything today. If you do three things, do these:
- Turn on two-step verification in WhatsApp and on your main email account. These two accounts unlock everything else. See WhatsApp settings and Google account security.
- Put a strong screen lock on the phone and hide message previews on the lock screen. See Android or iPhone.
- Stop reusing passwords: let the password manager built into your phone create and remember them. See strong passwords.
Then, when you have another quarter of an hour: review app permissions, set up Find My Device, check which SIMs are in your name on the government's Sanchar Saathi portal, and lock down social media.
About menu names
The guides give the menu names of current versions: WhatsApp, Android 13 to 15 on Pixel-style phones, iOS 17 and 18, and the Google, Instagram and Facebook apps as they stood in November 2026. Phone makers such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo rename some Android menus, and apps move things between updates. If a name does not match, use the search box at the top of your Settings; every setting named here can be found that way.
Do I need to install any security app?
No. Everything in these guides uses settings already on your phone and in your accounts.
How often should I repeat these checks?
Once is most of the benefit. Look again when you change phones, after any security alert, and perhaps once a year.