Phone Safety for Parents: 9 Settings to Fix on Your Diwali Visit

Going home for Diwali? Set aside 20 minutes for phone safety for parents: nine settings on their Android phone or iPhone that close the doors most scammers use. None of them need a new app you pay for, and most are already built into the phone.

You’ll fix app installs, WhatsApp, bank calls and one helpline number to save. The setting that blocks the most dangerous scam apps is one most families have never opened, and it’s in section 2.

Why Phone Safety for Parents Can’t Wait Till “Later”

Our parents learned UPI in a hurry, mostly during the lockdown years. They pay the sabziwala by QR, get pension alerts by SMS and live inside family WhatsApp groups. That’s exactly the mix scammers target: fake KYC messages, “electricity will be cut tonight” calls and APK files dressed up as wedding cards or bank apps.

Telling them “don’t click anything” doesn’t work for long. Settings do, because they keep working after you’ve gone back to your city. Most of the changes below take a minute each, and the phone keeps the protection on its own.

A small warning: menu names change between brands. Samsung, Vivo, Redmi and Pixel all hide these options in slightly different places. If you can’t find something, use the search bar at the top of the Settings app and type the setting’s name.

Settings 1 and 2: Shut the Back Door for Fake Apps (Android)

This is the one most families miss, and honestly, it’s the one I’d do first. Many fraud apps don’t come from the Play Store at all. They arrive as an APK file on WhatsApp (“PM Kisan update.apk”, “SBI reward points.apk”) and ask for permissions that let them read OTPs.

Google has seen the same thing. When it launched its enhanced fraud protection pilot in India, it said Play Protect would block installs from browsers, messaging apps and file managers when the app asks for SMS access, notification access or Accessibility. Those are the permissions used to grab OTPs and spy on the screen.

Setting 1: Turn off “Install unknown apps”

Open Settings and search for “Install unknown apps” (on some phones it’s under Apps, then Special app access). Make sure WhatsApp, Chrome, Telegram and the file manager are all set to Not allowed. Also open the Play Store, tap the profile photo, then Play Protect, and check that scanning is on.

Setting 2: Check who has Accessibility and notification access

Search Settings for “Accessibility” and look under installed or downloaded apps. Then search “Notification access”. Any app you don’t recognise in either list should lose that permission, and probably be uninstalled.

Also read15 Smartphone Privacy Settings You Probably Never Changed

Settings 3 and 4: Lock WhatsApp Before Someone Else Does

WhatsApp is where most scams start for our parents, so it gets two settings.

Setting 3: Two-step verification

Go to WhatsApp, then Settings, then Account, then Two-step verification, and tap Enable. Pick a six-digit PIN, enter it twice and add a recovery email (yours is fine). As Technipages explains, nobody can register the account on a new phone without that PIN.

Why it matters: a common trick is “I sent you a code by mistake, please forward it.” That code is the WhatsApp registration code. With two-step verification on, the scammer still hits a PIN wall.

Setting 4: Silence Unknown Callers

In WhatsApp, open Settings, then Privacy, then Calls and switch on Silence Unknown Callers (Smartprix has the steps). Calls from numbers not saved in the phone stop ringing but still appear in the call list.

There’s one trade-off. A new courier boy or a relative calling from a new number won’t ring through on WhatsApp. Tell your parents to check the call list once a day and save numbers they know.

Setting 5: Stolen Device Protection on iPhone

If your parent uses an iPhone, this one matters more than any app. According to Apple’s support page, Stolen Device Protection adds a security layer when the iPhone is away from familiar places like home or work.

Away from those places, some sensitive actions need Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback. Bigger changes, like changing the Apple Account password, also need an hour’s wait and a second Face ID check. So a thief who watched your father type his passcode on a crowded bus still can’t lock him out of his account.

How to switch it on

Open Settings, then Face ID & Passcode, enter the passcode and turn on Stolen Device Protection. It needs iOS 17.3 or later, a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, Find My, Significant Locations and two-factor authentication on the Apple Account. Apple notes it may already be on, so just check.

Settings 6 and 7: Teach the Phone (and Your Parents) What a Real Bank Call Looks Like

Most families don’t know this yet: banks have moved their service calls to a special number series. Once your parents know it, a fake “bank officer” call gets much easier to spot.

TRAI directed banks and other financial firms regulated by RBI, SEBI and PFRDA to make service and transaction calls from the 1600 number series. According to Outlook Money’s report on TRAI’s direction, commercial banks had to move by 1 January 2026, and most remaining banks and NBFCs by 1 March 2026.

Setting 6: Save the bank’s real number

Turn the debit card over and save the customer care number printed on the back as “SBI Official” (or whichever bank). Google Pay’s fraud protection page also says to get support details only from inside the app, not from numbers found online.

Setting 7: A sticky note next to the phone

This isn’t a menu setting, but it works. Write three lines on a card and keep it near your parent’s phone:

• Real bank calls start with 1600. A “bank officer” calling from a 98xxx number is fake.
• I never need my UPI PIN to receive money. Google Pay says it plainly: entering the PIN means you are paying.
• Nobody genuine asks me to install an app or share my screen.

Also readAadhaar Biometric Lock: Stop Fingerprint Fraud in 2 Minutes

Settings 8 and 9: Sanchar Saathi, Scam Warnings and 1930

Install Sanchar Saathi and check their SIM cards

The Department of Telecommunications runs Sanchar Saathi, a free portal and app for exactly these problems. It’s worth installing on your parent’s phone from the Play Store or App Store. Three of its services are the ones families need:

1. Chakshu: report a suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp message (fake KYC, fake job offers, impersonating officials). Spam complaints made within 7 days count as valid.
2. Know your mobile connections: see every mobile number registered on your parent’s ID and flag any they don’t recognise. One person can hold up to 9 connections (6 in J&K, Assam and the Northeast).
3. Block a lost or stolen phone: blocks the handset’s IMEI on every Indian network. You’ll need a police report and a duplicate SIM.

Check the connections list together. If a number you’ve never heard of shows up on your mother’s Aadhaar, flag it. Scammers often use SIMs taken out on someone else’s documents.

Turn on scam warnings in Messages

Google is adding more scam protection to Android. BleepingComputer reported on 15 October 2026 that Google Messages is getting Gemini-backed analysis of chats from unknown senders. It’s off by default, so if the option shows up in Messages settings on your parent’s phone, switch it on.

The same report says Android will now warn people before manually typed call-forwarding codes take effect. That matters because “dial this code to fix your SIM” is an old trick to divert OTP calls. Expect these features on eligible phones first; Google didn’t give an India date.

Save these as contacts

• 1930, saved as “Cyber Fraud Helpline”. If money goes, call within the first hour.
• cybercrime.gov.in bookmarked in Chrome, for filing a complaint.
• The bank’s official number from Setting 6.

Sanchar Saathi says Chakshu is not for cases where money is already lost; for those, it points people to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important phone safety setting for parents?

On Android, turning off “Install unknown apps” for WhatsApp, Chrome and the file manager. Fake APK files are one of the easiest ways for a fraud app to get OTP access. On iPhone, turn on Stolen Device Protection.

Do real bank calls come from 1600 numbers?

Under TRAI’s direction, banks and other RBI, SEBI and PFRDA regulated firms must make service and transaction calls from the 1600 series. Commercial banks had to switch by 1 January 2026. A caller claiming to be your bank from an ordinary mobile number should be treated as suspicious.

Should I install an antivirus app on my parents’ phone?

For most Android phones, Google Play Protect is already built in and scans apps. Make sure it’s switched on in the Play Store, and avoid “phone cleaner” or “booster” apps, which often ask for permissions they don’t need.

How do I report a scam call my parents got?

Use Chakshu on the Sanchar Saathi app or website to report a suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp message. If money has already been lost, call 1930 or file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in, and tell the bank right away.

Will Silence Unknown Callers make them miss important calls?

Calls from unsaved numbers won’t ring on WhatsApp, but they still show in the call list. Normal phone calls aren’t affected by this WhatsApp setting.

The Bottom Line

Phone safety for parents is mostly about closing a few doors once: risky app installs, an unlocked WhatsApp and blind trust in any caller who says “bank”. Spend 20 minutes this Diwali, write the sticky note and save 1930. Then check our list of smartphone privacy settings for your own phone, and read which phone is better for privacy if a new phone for Papa is on the Diwali list. If they use Aadhaar-based banking, also set up the Aadhaar biometric lock.

Sources

• Google India Blog: enhanced fraud protection pilot in India (Play Protect)
• Google Pay Help: protect yourself against fraud
• Apple Support: Stolen Device Protection for iPhone
• Sanchar Saathi (Department of Telecommunications)
• Outlook Money: TRAI deadlines for the 1600 series
• BleepingComputer: Android’s new scam defences (15 Oct 2026)
• Technipages: WhatsApp two-step verification steps
• Smartprix: WhatsApp Silence Unknown Callers