WhatsApp Privacy Vulnerability: ‘Deleted When Viewed’ Messages at Risk

Privacy Vulnerability in WhatsApp: Users at Risk

A significant privacy feature in WhatsApp has been found to have a concerning security vulnerability, putting its more than two billion users at risk of sensitive data leaks. Security research revealed a flaw in WhatsApp’s “View Once” feature, designed to ensure that messages are lost.

When a user sends a self-destructing message via this feature, the message disappears seconds after the recipient views it. Additionally, the recipient is prevented from forwarding or saving this message. Methods like taking a screenshot are also not possible due to this feature. However, it is noted that this feature can only be used on mobile platforms. Users who open the desktop application or WhatsApp through a browser typically see the warning: “You received a message that can only be viewed once. For more privacy, you can only open this on your phone.”

You can see it not just once, but as many times as you want!

However, security researchers have found a way to bypass this protection, allowing the message to be viewed only on desktop or browser, as well as a method to save this message. The details of how this method works have not been shared with the media to ensure that users are not victimized. WhatsApp has been informed about this vulnerability, and the platform announced it would patch this security hole shortly. However, due to the ongoing situation, users are strongly advised not to send sensitive information via “view once” messages to people they do not trust.