Disable WhatsApp for receiving verification / 2fa
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Since a couple of days PayPal sends me verification codes via WhatsApp instead of SMS. I do not want this. I have found a few other topics about this but they do give the correct answers.
My questions:
1) I never indicated my use of WhatsApp anywhere. How does PayPal detect or know that I have a WhatsApp account? Is this happening because I own a WhatsApp business account? This is a privacy breach. We need an official statement from PayPal about this.
2) how can the use of whatsapp for verification be disabled? I am often in places where there is no mobile data available, I need to use SMS! Also, Meta/Facebook cannot be trusted with this information.
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Account General
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Profile & Settings
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- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Account > Two-step verification > Disable > Disable.
On PayPal, I would look at: Settings > Data & Privacy > Permissions you’ve given
Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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The same happened to me today. I had chosen SMS verification and got a whatsapp message instead. I do not want to be contacted via whatsapp, SMS is ok. I do not want to disable 2FA completely, only the whatsapp option.

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