Beware, WhatsApp Probably Listening to Your Private Conversations
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VIVA – Recently, there have been concerns about WhatsApp probably listening to users' private conversations. These concerns were stated by Fod Dabiri, Twitter's director of engineering, who disclosed that WhatsApp had been using his phone’s microphone in the background while he was asleep, and he only discovered this when he woke up at 6 am.
To strengthen the stated, Elon Musk conveyed his opinion by tweeting, WhatsApp cannot be trusted on Twitter.
Following the incident, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced that the government would investigate any potential privacy violations in WhatsApp.
WhatsApp linked this issue to a bug on Android that causes incorrect information to appear on privacy dashboards. The messaging platform has confirmed that all messages and calls on its platform are end-to-end encrypted, ensuring that nobody can hear or read them.
WhatsApp.
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WhatsApp has also emphasized that users have complete control over their microphone settings and can choose to allow or disallow the app from accessing it.
"We believe this is a bug on Android that misattributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate," the company said.
It said WhatsApp only uses a phone's microphone when the user is making a call or recording.
In an official statement, WhatsApp stated that it had been in touch with the Twitter engineer who posted the issue and had asked Google to investigate and resolve the problem.
WhatsApp further clarified that it only accesses the microphone when a user is making a call or recording a voice note or video and that these communications are also protected by end-to-end encryption.
In the past, smart speakers have been reported to listen to private conversations. Whistleblowers from Apple and Amazon disclosed in separate reports published by Bloomberg News and The Guardian in April 2019 that they had eavesdropped on personal discussions through Siri and Alexa.
The incidents involved sensitive conversations such as drug deals, intimate moments between couples, and children screaming for help.
Android and iOS phone provides a green dot on the top left corner of the screen when an app is using your camera or microphone.
You also have the option to manage which apps have access to your phone and its features. To do so, follow these steps.
How to turn off your microphone on iPhone
Navigate to Settings > Siri & Search and then toggle off the following items:
1. Listen for ‘Hey Siri’
2. Press the side button for Siri
3. Allow Siri When Locked
To turn off Siri, simply tap ‘Turn Off Siri’ when a pop-up window appears after selecting ‘Allow Siri When Locked.’
How to turn off your microphone on Android
1. Navigate to Settings Select
2. Google > Account Services > Search, Assistant & Voice > Voice
3. Go to the Voice Match settings and toggle off the ‘Hey Google’ option.
