Subj : WhatsApps View Once privacy feature could be easily bypassed due
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Tue Sep 10 2024 11:15:05

WhatsApps View Once privacy feature could be easily bypassed due to this bug

Date:
Tue, 10 Sep 2024 09:59:22 +0000

Description:
WhatsApp warns you should not be able to view these messages on the web, or 
in the desktop app, but unfortunately - you can.

FULL STORY
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A privacy feature in WhatsApp was found to have a worrying security flaw, 
putting its two billion users at risk of sensitive data leaks. 

Security researcher Tal Beery recently found the bug in WhatsApp's View Once 
feature, which allows disappearing messages. When a user sends a View Once 
message to someone, that message disappears seconds after being viewed by the 
recipient. Furthermore, the recipient is blocked from forwarding, or saving 
the message - and taking screenshots is also blocked. 

The feature is supposed to only be available on mobile platforms. Users 
opening the desktop app, or opening WhatsApp through the browser, would 
usually see a message saying You received a view once message. For added 
privacy, you can only open it on your phone. However, Beery says that there 
is a way to bypass this protection and not only view the message on 
desktop/browser, but save it, as well. False sense of privacy 

The only thing that is worse than no privacy, is a false sense of privacy in 
which users are led to believe some forms of communication are private when 
in fact they are not, Beery said in his write-up . Currently, WhatsApps View 
Once is a blunt form of false privacy and should either be thoroughly fixed 
or abandoned. 

Beery reported the bug to Meta, WhatsApps parent company, in late August 
2024. In a response to TechCrunch , the company said it is aware of the bug 
and is already in the process of rolling out updates to view once on the web. 

We dont know when the patch will arrive. Until that happens, send view once 
messages only to people you trust. WhatsApp is one of the most popular 
instant messaging platforms in the world, counting more than two billion 
users. 

 Via TechCrunch More from TechRadar Pro Beware, this WhatsApp link will 
instantly crash your Android phone Here's a list of the best firewalls around 
today These are the best endpoint security tools right now



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/whatsapp-s-view-once-privacy-feature-co
uld-be-easily-bypassed-due-to-this-bug


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