What is Code Verify, and How Does it Function on WhatsApp?

The Code Verify browser plugin is a new security feature that verifies the validity of the WhatsApp Web code sent to the browser.

WhatsApp has released a new extension for its web service that adds more protection. The plugin is named Code Verify, as per GSM Arena. Its primary function is to confirm that the web version of the instantaneous messaging service is secure enough and that end-to-end encryption has still not been broken.

Need of CodeVerify

WhatsApp has added secure protocols to the WhatsApp Web platform. The Code Verify browser plugin is a new layer of protection that verifies the validity of the WhatsApp Web code being sent to the browser. The code verifies that your WhatsApp web code has not been interfered with or changed in any way. It determines whether you have the same WhatsApp Web experience as the rest of the world.

According to the platform, the web app, which Meta owns, is intrinsically less resistant to attacks. On Windows, iOS, and Android, Code Verify provides the very same level of protection as a native app.

In a blog post, WhatsApp said that Code Verify works “in partnership with Cloudflare, a web infrastructure and security company, to provide independent, third-party, transparent verification of the code you’re being served on WhatsApp Web. We hope this gives at-risk users peace of mind.”

How does it work?

The Code Verify extension would be automatically linked to Firefox or Edge browsers after installation, but Chrome users will have to pin it to get the most out of it.

The Code Verify extension then checks the code the browser receives from WhatsApp Web, develops a hash (which would be similar to a fingerprint of the code), then examines it to the code or fingerprint of the WhatsApp Web code we provided with CloudFlare whenever anyone uses WhatsApp Web.

“No other end-to-end encrypted messaging service has this level of security for people’s communications on the web. In addition to deploying Code Verify for WhatsApp Web, it is also being offered as open-source so that other services can use it. Below is an overview of how Code Verify works, how to use it, and the value of open-sourcing it,” WhatsApp added within the blog post.