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[Software] Don't worry, WhatsApp isn't actually using your phone's microphone to listen in


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Google has finally acknowledged and fixed an Android bug that caused WhatsApp to gain unauthorized access to a smartphone's microphone.

If you're not entirely familiar with the story, around the beginning of April some people started noticing and reporting online that the software was using their device's microphone without their consent. This issue surfaced on May 6 when Twitter engineer Fouad Dabery noticed that WhatsApp had accessed the microphone on his Pixel 7 Pro at least nine times in one morning. Every time the error occurred, a notification popped up notifying him of what had happened. The official WhatsApp Twitter account responded, claiming that the issue was caused by an Android bug that misrepresented information on the phone's privacy dashboard, then proceeded to ask Google to roll out a quick fix. It took nearly two months for the tech giant to recognize the problem, but luckily, that day has come.

The official Android developer account on Twitter recently said that the bug only affected a "limited number of WhatsApp users," explaining why it was not widespread. To correct the security bug and stop these notifications, Google states that all you need to do is install the latest version of WhatsApp, which we highly recommend.

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Falsely attributed panic
To this day, no one knows why the microphone was faulty in the first place. Technical details surrounding the error are almost non-existent as neither Google nor Meta (the parent company of WhatsApp) have disclosed any details. There is nothing about it in the Android 13 changelog on the Android Developer website.
But the only thing that can be said is that nothing was actually recorded. As WABetaInfo points out, WhatsApp hasn't actually been able to access the microphone on anyone's mobile device. It only turned on the notifications which caused them to go a bit grouchy. This, in turn, has led some people online to believe they are being spied on or having their privacy invaded, but in fact, nothing of the sort has happened. We've reached out to Google to see if the company is willing to release any additional information about the fix. This story will be updated if we hear back.

Having the peace of mind of knowing your information is secure and nothing is being logged is vital for many users. However, the program cannot solve everything. If you want to take your security up a notch, be sure to check out TechRadar's list of the most secure smartphones for June 2023.

https://www.techradar.com/computing/software/dont-worry-whatsapp-isnt-actually-using-your-phones-microphone-to-listen-in

 

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