This week, WhatsApp was criticized for allegedly recording users without their knowledge or consent. As a result of this privacy invasion, many of you have expressed your displeasure with WhatsApp and even called for action to be taken against the company.
WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, has defended itself by saying the issue was due to a bug in Android and that the messaging service was innocent of any wrongdoing. It ended up that they were correct.
WhatsApp users using their phones’ microphones may have received false privacy warnings due to a problem in Android, as revealed by Google.
Google spokesperson has been quoted saying by Engadget in this report.
“Based on our current investigation, this reported bug in Android affecting WhatsApp users produces incorrect privacy indicators and notifications in the Privacy Dashboard,”
The firm further states that it is making efforts to address the problem. The level of scrutiny WhatsApp receives is warranted. More than a billion people use it daily, and over 400 million are in India.
There have been worries about WhatsApp’s future development ever since Facebook (now Meta) purchased the messaging software.
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
For example, spam levels on WhatsApp have skyrocketed recently. A separate Business account is available for business use and customer communication. Brands provide you with tracking information; this is illegal without the user’s permission but is standard practice.
We checked our digital dashboard to see if WhatsApp triggered access alerts but couldn’t detect anything unusual.
In any case, it’s encouraging to see Google act swiftly to disseminate the fix for this issue, which should help WhatsApp dampen the negative buzz it’s been generating on social media this week.
