Elon Musk said that WhatsApp cannot be trusted after a Twitter engineer shared screenshots that showed his WhatsApp microphone being used when he was sleeping. Musk further revealed details about new features including adding calls and encrypted messaging coming to the platform.
After a Twitter engineer alleged that WhatsApp had been utilising his microphone in the background while he slept, Elon Musk stated that WhatsApp cannot be trusted. To back up his assertions, the Twitter employee shared a screenshot of an Android dashboard. Musk replied to the tweet by saying that one cannot trust the platform. On the other hand, the Twitter boss is bringing WhatsApp-like features including voice and video calls to Twitter.
The screenshot of an Android dashboard was posted on Twitter by Foad Dabiri, a Twitter developer. According to the screenshot, WhatsApp had access to his microphone in the background from 4:20 till 6:53 in the morning.
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WhatsApp cannot be trusted https://t.co/3gdNxZOLLy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)Elon Musk responded to the tweet by writing, "WhatsApp cannot be trusted."
In the meanwhile, Musk recently tweeted that he was introducing WhatsApp-like functionality to Twitter. Users of Twitter will soon be able to send direct messages (DMs) in response to any message in Twitter threads and answer with "any emoji." Additionally, users will be able to use Twitter to make audio and video calls, similar to what WhatsApp does.
With latest version of app, you can DM reply to any message in the thread (not just most recent) and use any emoji reaction.
Release of encrypted DMs V1.0 should happen tomorrow. This will grow in sophistication rapidly. The acid test is that I could not see your DMs even if…
Meanwhile, n a tweet, WhatsApp confirmed the issue and stated that it was caused by an Android bug that "mis-attributes information in their privacy dashboard." The user's phone was a Google Pixel, and WhatsApp claims to have contacted Google to look into the situation and offer a solution. In a subsequent tweet, WhatsApp stated that users have "full control" over their microphone settings and that the microphone is only used when a call is being placed or when a voice note or video is being recorded.
Users have full control over their mic settings
Once granted permission, WhatsApp only accesses the mic when a user is making a call or recording a voice note or video - and even then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption so WhatsApp cannot hear them
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