WhatsApp might be using your microphone while you are sleeping!
WhatsApp bug has revealed an interesting problem to the surface. It might be using your microphone. Here are all the details.
Both Google and WhatsApp have confirmed that they are aware of a bug that causes some Android devices to appear as though WhatsApp is gaining unneeded access to their microphones. Users have tweeted about the problem, as how WhatsApp appears to be using their microphone while they are sleepinh. The issue first surfaced a month ago.
WhatsApp bug makes users confused
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
Twitter engineer Foad Dabiri posted an image that appeared to show that the microphone had been running continuously in the background while he wasn't using the app. He shared a screenshot from Android's Privacy Dashboard, which shows how frequently apps use a device's camera and microphone.
Dabiri's tweet was retweeted by Musk, who wrote, "WhatsApp cannot be trusted." The messaging app has already lost many users last years due to some privacy and security concerns, yet the problems still continue now. The messaging app tries to get back their users by offering more security features.
In an explanation shared on Twitter, WhatsApp recommended it was an Android-related issue, and said "We accept this is a bug on Android that mis-credits data in their Protection Dashboard and have requested that Google research and remediate".
