WhatsApp rejected this claim.
New Delhi:
A Twitter engineer’s screenshot of his device has raised concerns about alleged WhatsApp accessing the devices microphone, even when the app is not in use. Engineer Fouad Al-Dubairi claimed that his WhatsApp was constantly using the microphone while he slept.
WhatsApp is using the microphone in the background, while I was sleeping and since I woke up at 6am (and that’s just part of the schedule!) what’s going on? pic.twitter.com/pNIfe4VlHV
– Fouad Al-Dabiri (@foaddabiri) May 6, 2023
His concern also prompted a response from his boss, Elon Musk.
“Trust nothing, not even nothing,” Musk wrote on Twitter.
Trust nothing, not even nothing
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar called the incident an invasion of privacy and said the government would look into it immediately.
“This is an unacceptable breach of privacy. We will scrutinize this matter thoroughly and take action on any breach of privacy even with the preparation of the new Digital Personal Data Protection Act DPDP (sic),” the Federal Secretary of State for Electronics and Technology tweeted.
WhatsApp rejected the claim and said, “Users have full control over their microphone settings on Google for investigation and compensation.”
Users have complete control over their microphone settings
Once permission is granted, WhatsApp only accesses the microphone when a user is making a call or recording an audio or video note — and even then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp can’t hear them.
– Whatsapp (WhatsApp) May 9, 2023
“Once the permission is granted, WhatsApp only accesses the microphone when the user is on a call or recording an audio or video note – and even then, those communications are protected with end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp can’t hear them,” she added.
However, many users in the comments section have claimed that they are facing similar issues.
WhatsApp is still the most popular instant messaging app that uses end-to-end encryption to protect the content of messages from being read by anyone else.
Moreover, WhatsApp has had some privacy issues in the past, such as: sharing some user data with parent company Meta such as your phone number, device information, location, and contacts.
Signal and Telegram claim to offer more privacy to users.
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