WhatsApp has been engulfed in a privacy firestorm amid growing reports from users that the chat app is ‘listening’ to them.
The Mark Zuckerberg-owned app made headlines Tuesday when Elon Musk – who is launching his own encrypted messaging system on Twitter – slammed WhatsApp as ‘untrustworthy.’
The comment was made after one user showed how WhatsApp accessed his phone’s mic while he slept from around 4:30 am until nearly 7 am.
But it appears to be a long-standing issue, with DailyMail.com finding reports on customer service boards, Reddit and other social media sites that go back as far as five years.
WhatsApp took their defense to Twitter, claiming the issue is a ‘bug on Android’ that sent false information to the user’s Privacy Dashboard – a Google feature that monitors how and when third-party apps access the camera and mic.
Here’s what we know about the problem and how YOU can safeguard yourself going forward:
Elon Musk slammed WhatsApp Tuesday after seeing the app had activated the microphone while a user was asleep
WhatsApp claims the issue is due to a bug on Android, but the problem has been reported for at least five years
What is the problem?
When DailyMail.com asked Meta for more details, a spokesperson referred to the Twitter post.
‘Over the last 24 hours, we’ve been in touch with a Twitter engineer who posted an issue with his Pixel phone and WhatsApp,’ WhatsApp tweeted.
‘We believe this is a bug on Android that misattributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate.
‘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.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Google for comment.
The Privacy Dashboard launched with Android 12 as a way for users to know if apps are snooping.
It is located in ‘Privacy’ and shows which apps are accessing data, which permissions apps are using, and when that access happens, providing a snapshot to users.
The feature displays a green light at the top right of the screen when an app access the device’s microphone or camera.
Android users can see when an app accesses their camera or microphone on Privacy Dashboard
Some users have noticed WhatsApp accessing their microphone even if they did not use the app for a day
Should you be concerned?
WhatsApp states it collects users’ account registration information, transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with businesses, mobile device information and IP address.
The company claims it does not store messages and recordings permanently.
Musk shared a screenshot from Twitter engineer Foad Dabiri, who posted an image of his Privacy Dashboard.
The screenshot shows WhatsApp switched his mic on at least every two minutes between 4:20 am to 6:53 am.
‘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,’ Dabiri tweeted.
Musk shared the screenshot in a separate tweet, stating, ‘WhatsApp cannot be trusted.’
Posts about the mysterious mic access go back years.
iPhone users have also noticed WhatsApp has shown excessive background activity compared to other apps
iOS users must open Settings from their iPhone home screen, select WhatsApp and toggle the Microphone option off
One Redditor posted five years ago that they did not use WhatsApp during the day, but the Privacy Dashboard history shows ‘the app used the microphone today in the background for 11 min.’
There are also issue reports in the last few months old, and people have suggested a bug caused it.
But if the problem is a bug, users question why it has not been fixed since it first surfaced at least five years ago or why the flaw did not impact other apps.
The issue is hitting Samsung and Pixel smartphones mostly, according to reports shared on Reddit.
However, iOS users have also noticed their microphone was on while making a call through WhatsApp while they had ‘Mute’ enabled.
User suggests revoking the sensitive permissions to the WhatsApp app (microphone and camera), restarting the device and then re-enabling the permissions.
iPhone users have also noticed WhatsApp has shown excessive background activity compared to other apps.
How can you protect yourself?
Some Redditors have shared ways to fix the situation, mainly restarting the smartphone and ensuring it has the lasted Android update.
Another user suggests revoking the sensitive permissions to the WhatsApp app (microphone and camera), restarting the device and then re-enabling the permissions.
For Android users, open Settings, Apps and select WhatsApp.
Then select Permissions and choose Don’t Allow. Users can also select All the Time, Allow Only While Using the App or Ask Every Time.
iOS users must open Settings from their iPhone home screen, select WhatsApp and toggle the Microphone option off.
Is Elon Musk using this controversy to promote his own messaging service?
Before Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October, the Tesla CEO has long been vocal about his distaste for WhatsApp.
In 2023, Musk tweeted, ‘Use Signal’ after the term ‘WhatsApp’ trended on Twitter due to the app’s controversial privacy policy update.
Musk has been planning to release end-to-end encryption to direct messages (DMs) on Twitter since November 2022, and the CEO announced the feature could roll out today
His late-night post also revealed that video and voice chat functions were ‘coming soon’, bringing Twitter in line with Meta’s social platforms with similar features.
At midnight, he tweeted: ‘With latest version of app, you can DM reply to any message in the thread (not just most recent) and use any emoji reaction.
The release of encrypted DMs V1.0 should happen tomorrow.
Intentions to boost the privacy of Twitter were announced in a post late last night, as the billionaire joked he ‘could not see your DMs even if there was a gun to [his] head’.
The anticipated launch comes as part of Musk’s goal of making Twitter an ‘Everything App,’ with a range of other features such as payments and long-form tweets.
