Urgent warning over WhatsApp bug that could leave private content exposed
People have been warned to urgently update WhatsApp due to a glitch allowing their private photos to actually remain visible.
The messaging app’s ‘View Once’ feature is meant to let users send images which delete automatically after they are seen, without the option to take a screenshot.
But in a worrying error for security, they could actually still be seen in the app’s settings, which includes chat history.
Parent company Meta said the problem, which only affected iPhone users, has been fixed with the latest update, which is 25.2.3.
But it’s a big oversight for the privacy feature, which can be used to send sensitive images only for a peek (and you can imagine what it may often be used for).
Security researcher Ramshath first notified people about the bug, writing in a blog post that he had discovered a ‘bypass’, which required no technical knowledge to use.
He reported the problem to Meta’s bug bounty programme, where anyone who can get a reward if they spot an error not yet identified.
But when he eventually got a reply, it said the company was already aware of this issue internally.
It continued: ‘Since we are already in the process of mitigating this issue, we won’t be able to qualify this report for a reward under our bug bounty program.’
He said that ‘it was like finding out someone had already solved the puzzle you worked so hard on’.
But aside from the personal disappointment, he said the issue showed that even the most well thought-out features can have flaws, and there must be collaboration to identify such errors.
‘Features that promise privacy should deliver on their word,’ he said. ‘Anything less puts user confidence at risk.’
To update your app, go to the app store, navigate to WhatsApp, and press ‘update’ if you do not yet have the latest version installed.
Meanwhile, users of sister company Instagram were also unhappy about others seeing what they thought was more private information, due to the introduction of a separate tab just to scrolls through Reels your friends have liked.
While likes were already public, they were not presented on a platter like this before, so if anyone has been liking things they shouldn’t, soon the world will know.
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