WhatsApp has rejected the claim.
New Delhi:
A Twitter engineer’s screenshot of his device has raised concerns over WhatsApp allegedly accessing devices’ microphones even when the app is not actively in use. Engineer Phod Dabiri has claimed that his WhatsApp application was constantly using the microphone when he was asleep.
WhatsApp is using the microphone in the background while I was asleep and since I woke up at 6am (and it is a part of the timeline!) What is going on? pic.twitter.com/pNIfe4VlHV
— Foad Dabiri (@foaddabiri) May 6, 2023
His boss Elon Musk has also reacted to his concern.
“Don’t trust anyone, not even anything”, Mr Musk tweeted.
trust nothing, nothing
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023
Rejecting the claim, WhatsApp said, “Users have full control over their mic settings, Google checks and fixes.”
Users have complete control over their mic settings
Once granted, WhatsApp accesses the mic only 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 can’t hear them.
– WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) May 9, 2023
“Once given permission, WhatsApp only accesses the mic when a user is on a call or recording a voice note or video – and even then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption, so WhatsApp Can’t hear them,” it added.
However, several users have claimed to have faced similar issues in the comments section.
WhatsApp remains the most popular instant messaging app that uses end-to-end encryption to protect the contents of messages from being read by anyone else.
In addition, WhatsApp has faced some privacy issues in the past, such as: sharing some user data with its parent company Meta such as your phone number, device information, location, and contacts.
Signal and Telegram claim to offer users more privacy.