Some individuals are quick to advertise encrypted apps as safe to use. I will discuss how many popular apps that are popularly believed to be secure due to encryption are actually fraught with danger, as the commentators who claim this expertise have not considered the vulnerabilities of each of these applications.
The primary fault is a concept known as a relationship map. Due to the meta data surrounding the use of each of these apps, this vulnerability can lead to the entire identity of all conversation participants and their profiles. I will describe how this occurs and how understanding how it operates is a component of what the intelligence community refers to as SIGINT (Signals Intelligence).
Observe and learn about this small puzzle that will challenge your mind and reasoning.
If you use WhatsApp a lot and communicate intensively in group chats, you will soon have a problem. Sharing in group chats is limited for users of both Android smartphones and iPhones.
WhatsApp limits forwarding to group chats
There are many freedoms in WhatsApp. This ensures that people take advantage of them. That’s why the company is reacting and restricting the forwarding of messages in group chats properly. So far, you can share to multiple group chats at the same time. This option will soon be gone. The limit has already been introduced in the beta versions of WhatsApp for Android and iOS. If you try to share something to several groups at the same time, it will no longer work. Forwarding is restricted to one group ( source: WABetaInfo ).
The limit initially affects WhatsApp users of the latest beta versions. They can already no longer share that much. This restriction will certainly be changed to the final versions in the near future. The aim is to prevent fake news from spreading so quickly. If you now want to share false information via WhatsApp, you have to put in a lot more effort. This applies primarily to messages that have already been forwarded once. Especially then the risk is very high that the message that has already been forwarded was not even read by the forwarder and was simply forwarded.
WhatsApp drills voice messages properly
While WhatsApp restricts one function, there are six new functions for voice messages . This eliminates many disadvantages when sending voice messages. You will soon be able to listen to voice messages while leaving the chat with the person or group. You can also pause the recording of voice messages. This means there are no unnecessary pauses that annoy the recipient.
WhatsApp voice messages, sometimes referred to as “voices”, have become quite popular in recent years. For example, recording an audio message is easier and faster than typing it out. Especially if the message is a bit longer in nature. Functionally, however, the voice messages are still somewhat limited. That will change, according to the developers. In a blog post they explain what changes await.
Pause recordings The biggest innovation is that you can now pause recordings. This way you don’t have to start your voice message all over again if something interrupts your recording. You can now also listen back to your voice message before sending it – which does not seem a superfluous luxury.
You also have more options as a recipient. It has already been made possible to play voice messages faster. Now you can also have this playback happen in the background, so you can switch to another conversation or app during playback. When you pause a voice message, WhatsApp also remembers where you left off, so you don’t have to search where you left off in the conversation. And if you still have to search in a voice message, you will see that it is visually designed with sound waves. That should make searching easier
It is not yet known when the new voice messaging features will be available. WhatsApp expects these to be rolled out in the ‘coming weeks’.
One might sometimes get the impression that everything is allowed in WhatsApp and there are absolutely no rules. Exactly the opposite is the case. There are nine rules that you should never break, otherwise, your account will be blocked and you will no longer be able to use Messenger.
WhatsApp rules that you should definitely follow
WhatsApp is the most popular messenger in the world. It doesn’t work without rules. That’s exactly why the group has set out nine important rules in the terms of use that nobody is allowed to break. Otherwise, the account will be blocked.
Insulting users You may not insult, threaten, harass or make or share racist or ethnically objectionable statements to other users.
Incite to violence WhatsApp may not be used to incite violence, illegal or otherwise inappropriate activities. This also applies to sharing content with violent crime.
Fake News The messenger may not be used to spread fake news with intentional untruths, misrepresentations or misleading statements.
Sending spam Users of WhatsApp are not allowed to spread “messages like bulk messages”. The use of “auto-messaging” or “auto-dialing” is also prohibited. Messages or calls that were previously recorded and sent automatically at a specific time are therefore not allowed. Only if you have permission from WhatsApp, there is an exception.
Feigning another identity With WhatsApp, there is no real name requirement. Users can only be identified by phone number. The name can be chosen freely. You are not allowed to pretend to be someone else here. But nicknames are allowed.
Distributing malware Files can also be sent via WhatsApp. Accordingly, you may not use Messenger to distribute viruses or other malware.
Spying on users You are not allowed to spy on users via WhatsApp. No information may be obtained from or about users in an inadmissible or unauthorized manner.
Changing cell phone number too often WhatsApp is tied to a cell phone number. There is no account where you log in with a username and password. If you change your cell phone number too often, WhatsApp can eventually exclude you from the verification process.
Hacking WhatsApp or manipulating the code Anyone who tries to hack the messenger or manipulate the code in any way will also be blocked immediately.
WhatsApp does not want to restrict itself on the individual platforms. For this reason, a function was activated some time ago that allows iPhone users to move their data to Samsung smartphones. Much more should soon be possible – namely if Android users want to switch to the iPhone.
WhatsApp: Change from Android phone to iPhone is coming
You can already switch from an Android smartphone to an iPhone via WhatsApp and take your data with you. That will change soon. After WhatsApp made it possible some time ago to switch from an iPhone to a Samsung smartphone , and soon all Android 12 cell phones will follow, the reverse path should also be possible (source: WABetaInfo ).
This function has appeared in a new beta version of WhatsApp for Android – but is not yet active. You will soon be able to switch from any Android smartphone to the iPhone and simply take your chats and other data with you. So far, as I said, this has not been possible with official means and was probably not wanted at all in recent years. Otherwise such a system would have been integrated long ago.
This will soon make it even easier to switch from an Android smartphone to an iPhone. Often one does not want to take the arduous path because one always has to leave something behind. If WhatsApp unlocks the feature in the future, even more people could switch to the iPhone . Apple should be happy.
How exactly WhatsApp plans to implement the new function is not known. The current solution when switching from iPhone to Samsung phone is to use a cable. So it doesn’t just work via the cloud and your own phone number. It will be interesting to see if there might be a better solution.
WhatsApp will soon get new brushes and a blur effect. (Image source: Pixabay ) With WhatsApp, users will soon be able to let their creativity run free. New tools for image and video editing have appeared in the beta version of the Android version of the messenger. With new brushes, media become even more individual.
When it comes to image editing , WhatsApp has not yet offered any particularly extensive tools . A basic brush and color palette are available, but most users tend to ignore them. Other possibilities for embellishment are much more mature: in addition to stickers and emojis, for example, text can be placed over an image or a filter can be applied right away. WhatsApp: edit photos and videos creatively New tools have appeared in the just-released beta version of WhatsApp for Android. Messenger is still not an alternative to Photoshop, but media can still be designed a little more creatively before sending. There are now three brushes of different thicknesses available . In addition to a fine and a normal variant, there is also a coarser brush (Source: WABetaInfo ). The color palette itself hasn’t changed.
The second innovation is a small function that is already available in the iOS version of the app. The Android version is only catching up with the blur function. This allows parts of an image or video to be disguised directly in Messenger in order to simply hide sensitive areas . So there is no need to switch to another app.
Reports say that WhatsApp has rolled out new privacy measure to block stalkers. The company is confident that these new measures will enable users to chat without worrying about stalkers.
WhatsApp has not given users option to hide their last seen status and online activities from who are not their contact list.
The information about the new privacy measures has been reported by WABetaInfo. They have shared an email they received from the WhatsApp customer support. The email response from the WhatsApp confirms that the new privacy measures have been implemented by the company for your general and business WhatsApp accounts. These new measures prevent people who are not in your contact list or who have not chatted with you.
The new privacy features have been implemented by the WhatsApp at the server side. Users have not the given the privilege to turn on/off the. This is a backend change.
People familiar with the Internet know that third party apps often tract their activities. Some makers of third party apps tracks activities of users on WhatsApp. Bad news is that their knowledge allows them to log in your WhatsApp and keep an eye you. For stalkers, these new privacy changes are powerful protection.
A WhatsApp user should never chat with or keep unknown numbers in their contact list. If they do so , stalkers can get in their WhatsApp app.
Users must keep in my that if they have chatted with a person but cannot see their last seen status. It means they have activated or enabled “My Contacts Except” privacy setting.
An explosive document from the FBI shows how easily the US security agency can get user data from WhatsApp and iMessage. The two popular messengers are particularly “revealing”, they say.
A leaked document from the American Federal Bureau of Investigation describes that the mobile messenger apps react differently to requests for user data. With Facebook’s WhatsApp and Apple’s iMessage, the hurdles should be particularly low in comparison. The access to private records by the FBI is possible for the two messengers probably almost in real time.
The now published document describes how US law enforcement agencies have several legal avenues to extract sensitive user data from the most popular messenger apps. It is a kind of manual that explains in detail how the FBI can get the operators of the apps to release data. The prerequisite for this is a search warrant or a subpoena.
It shouldn’t be about message content, but about sender and recipient as well as other metadata. The address book is also published. WhatsApp provides the collected data at intervals of 15 minutes after request by the FBI.
A WhatsApp spokeswoman has confirmed the FBI’s actions. At the same time, it is pointed out that the users’ messages are still secure via end-to-end encryption . Law enforcement agencies have no access to it. Apple has not issued a statement and instead referred to its in-house guidelines for legal proceedings.
News reports say that Messaging app WhatsApp has closed the accounts of more than 2 million users in India in August. The company said these users violated India’s IT Rules and WhatsApp Terms of Service. WhatsApp released this information in its monthly compliance reports which was released on Tuesday.
It is reported that WhatsApp closed 3 lakh accounts bet June 16 and July 31. The accounts were closed on the basis of complaints received against them. WhatsApp had received 594 complaints. On an average, WhatsApp bans 8 million accounts every month for abuse cases worldwide.
The company said that they had closed 20 lakh 70 thousand accounts for sending automated or bulk messages without permission.
According to the report, during August, WhatsApp had received 420 complaints. This included 105 complaints of account support, 222 of ban appeals, 42 of product support, 17 of security and 34 complaints of other support.
WhatsApp is making use of Artificial Intelligence to prevent abuse. The company spokesperson said that the complaints have been given in the User Security Report. WhatsApp will continue its action to prevent misuse of the platform. Our focus is on preventing spam and unwanted messages on the platform.
WhatsApp has stated in its support page that it registers user complaints through the complaint channel. The messaging app uses artificial intelligence tools and resources to prevent harmful behavior on the platform.
According to the new IT rules of India, it is necessary to publish the report every month, the Government of India had implemented new IT rules on 26 May. According to these rules, any digital platform with more than 50 lakh users is required to publish a compliance report every month. In this report, information about the complaints received and the action taken on the basis of them will have to be given.
WhatsApp has emphasized that it does not read any user’s message. It is an end-to-end encrypted platform. In this, user information is protected. The platform relies on un-encrypted information available for operation. These include user reports, profile photos, group photos and group descriptions.
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