The letter outlined not only the improper access engineers had to WhatsApp user data, but a variety of other shortcomings, including a “failure to inventory user data,” as required under privacy laws in California, the European Union, and the FTC settlement, failure to locate data storage, an absence of systems for monitoring user data access,… Read More »
The flow of adding new members to a WhatsApp group message is: A group member sends an unsigned message to the WhatsApp server that designates which users are group members, for instance, Alice, Bob, and Charlie The server informs all existing group members that Alice, Bob, and Charlie have been added The existing members have… Read More »
A jury has awarded WhatsApp $167 million in punitive damages in a case the company brought against Israel-based NSO Group for exploiting a software vulnerability that hijacked the phones of thousands of users. The verdict, reached Tuesday, comes as a major victory not just for Meta-owned WhatsApp but also for privacy- and security-rights advocates who… Read More »
On Wednesday, OpenAI launched a 1-800-CHATGPT (1-800-242-8478) telephone number that anyone in the US can call to talk to ChatGPT via voice chat for up to 15 minutes for free. The company also says that people outside the US can send text messages to the same number for free using WhatsApp. Upon calling, users hear… Read More »
Getty Images reader comments 52 with 38 posters participating Share this story In a major outage yesterday, Facebook, along with its sibling sites, WhatsApp and Instagram, became unreachable for hours. Real-time website status tracker DownDetector received over 14 million reports from users who couldn’t use the social media giant’s apps and services. But beyond the obvious… Read More »
Enlarge / The security of Facebook’s popular messaging app leaves several rather important devils in its details. reader comments 88 with 64 posters participating, including story author Share this story Yesterday, independent newsroom ProPublica published a detailed piece examining the popular WhatsApp messaging platform’s privacy claims. The service famously offers “end-to-end encryption,” which most users interpret… Read More »
Enlarge / Experts in the region said shutting down the WhatsApp numbers was “absurd” and “unhelpful.” SOPA Images | Getty Images reader comments 115 with 61 posters participating Share this story WhatsApp has shut down a complaints helpline set up by the Taliban when it took control of Kabul, after the messaging app came under… Read More »