Centre to review charges against WhatsApp over mic privacy
Things don't seem to be going well for WhatsApp. The Meta-owned app has been recently accused of using microphones on devices without users' consent. On May 6, Foad Dabiri, who is the Director of Engineering at Twitter, said WhatsApp had been using the microphone in the background while he was asleep. Now, the Centre has said it will examine the charge pressed against WhatsApp.
Why does this story matter?
WhatsApp has landed in trouble for the same reason that it has faced issues in the past: privacy. To recall, the app was accused by several users across the globe of sharing sensitive user information, like contact number, and location, with its parent company Meta. The app, however, was quick to take action and started widely advocating its end-to-end encryption policies.
Some users claimed to face the same issue as Dabiri
Taking to Twitter, Dabiri reported on May 6 that WhatsApp was using microphones in the background, providing a screenshot of the timeline of the app's activity. Some users commented on his post saying that they were facing similar issues. "I've noticed the same and also noticed ads related to conversations I've had with people...Disabled permissions...," said one user.
Dabiri took to Twitter to report the issue
Users have full control of their mic settings: WhatsApp
In response, WhatsApp clarified that "users have full control of their mic settings" and emphasized that the app only accesses the mic if the user grants permission. The company said that the issue could be due to "a bug on Android" that "misattributes information" in the "Privacy dashboard." WhatsApp has also asked Google to "investigate and remediate" the matter.
The Centre termed the situation 'unacceptable'
In response to the WhatsApp privacy row, the Indian government has said that it will probe the charges made against the app. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the Centre will be examining the matter immediately and will act upon "any violation of privacy." "This is an unacceptable breach and violation of Privacy," said the minister in a tweet.
We will be examining this immediately: Centre
Elon Musk advised users to trust nothing
Retweeting Dabiri's post, Elon Musk said, "WhatsApp cannot be trusted." It is no secret that Musk is not particularly fond of Meta-owned social media apps. In the past, he has openly asked users to switch to WhatsApp's rival messaging app Signal, claiming the latter is more secure. "Trust Nothing, Not even nothing," Musk said in a separate tweet.