WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging apps that uses end-to-end encryption to protect the user’s messages from being read by anyone else. It supposedly uses this feature to protect the privacy of the users. But there have been instances when WhatsApp has encountered some privacy issues. One such instance is sharing user data with its parent company Meta including the phone number, device information, location, and contacts.
This led to numerous users changing their messenger from WhatsApp to Signal and Telegram as they claim to offer better privacy to the users.
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Recently, a Twitter engineer shared a screenshot of his device and said that WhatsApp has been allegedly accessing the microphone of devices
His tweet has raised concern over WhatsApp allegedly using the microphone of devices in the background, even when the application is not actively in use. The engineer, Foad Dabiri claimed that the microphone of his device was constantly being used by his WhatsApp application while he was asleep.
Foad Dabiri’s tweet read,
”WhatsApp has been using the microphone in the background, while I was asleep and since I woke up at 6AM (and that’s just a part of the timeline!) What’s going on?”
WhatsApp has been using the microphone in the background, while I was asleep and since I woke up at 6AM (and that’s just a part of the timeline!) What’s going on? pic.twitter.com/pNIfe4VlHV
— Foad Dabiri (@foaddabiri) May 6, 2023
The Twitter chief, Elon Musk responded to the engineer’s tweet on the claim that WhatsApp had been using the microphone in the background of his phone
Elon Musk replied to his tweet by saying,
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That’s weird
That’s weird
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 7, 2023
Mr. Musk quote tweeted a reply,
“WhatsApp cannot be trusted”
WhatsApp cannot be trusted https://t.co/3gdNxZOLLy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
He also later replied to another user who said,
“it’s incredible how many people don’t realize that WhatsApp is owned by Meta / Facebook.”
The billionaire also asserted that the recent changes at the messaging company had disturbed workers immensely.
Elon Musk tweeted to his followers,
“Trust nothing, not even nothing.”
Trust nothing, not even nothing
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology called the incident a breach of privacy and stated that the government will examine it as soon as possible.
The Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology tweeted,
“This is an unacceptable breach n violation of Privacy. We will be examinig this immdtly and will act on any violation of privacy even as new Digital Personal Data protection bill DPDP is being readied (sic)”
This is an unacceptable breach n violation of #Privacy
We will be examinig this immdtly and will act on any violation of privacy even as new Digital Personal Data protection bill #DPDP is being readied.@GoI_MeitY @_DigitalIndia https://t.co/vtFrST4bKP
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) May 10, 2023
The messaging app, WhatsApp finally responded to the Twitter engineer, Foad Dabiri’s tweet and dismissed the claim
WhatsApp dismissed his allegation and tweeted,
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Over the last 24 hours we’ve been in touch with a Twitter engineer who posted an issue with his Pixel phone and WhatsApp.
We believe this is a bug on Android that mis-attributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate.
Over the last 24 hours we’ve been in touch with a Twitter engineer who posted an issue with his Pixel phone and WhatsApp.
We believe this is a bug on Android that mis-attributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate. https://t.co/MnBi3qE6Gp
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) May 9, 2023
WhatsApp also stated,
Users have full control over their mic settings Once granted permission, WhatsApp only accesses the mic when a user is making a call or recording a voice note or video – and even then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot hear them
Users have full control over their mic settings
Once granted permission, WhatsApp only accesses the mic when a user is making a call or recording a voice note or video – and even then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot hear them
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) May 9, 2023
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