Do not worry if you have just seen WhatsApp acting strangely with privacy notifications on your Galaxy mobile. According to Google, the messaging service is not snooping on you. A small number of WhatsApp users were reportedly affected by an Android bug that caused them to receive false privacy indicators and notifications.
Since Android 12, users of devices, including those who own Galaxy phones and tablets, can check the status bar and notification area to see if an app is using the microphone or camera. Users recently became aware of privacy signs that suggested WhatsApp was using the microphone without their consent (9to5Google). The microphone wasn’t actually being used when the notifications appeared, however, as it appears that these indicators were displayed incorrectly.
Privacy notifications on your Galaxy smartphone
If you’ve just seen WhatsApp acting weird with privacy notifications on your Galaxy smartphone, don’t worry. The messaging service is not spying on you, claims Google. According to reports, a limited number of WhatsApp users experienced bogus privacy indications and notifications due to an Android problem.
Users of devices, including those who own Galaxy phones and tablets, may check the status bar and notification area to see whether an app is using the microphone or camera since Android 12. The use of the microphone by WhatsApp without users’ permission was recently brought to users’ attention by privacy warnings (9to5Google). However, it appears that these messages were displayed wrongly, as the microphone wasn’t actually in use when they occurred.
Google apologized to some WhatsApp consumers on Android devices who faced a privacy-related bug from last month, which may have caused confusion. For context, in early May, a Twitter engineer using a Pixel 7 Pro found WhatsApp accessing their microphone all through the night several times while they were asleep. Soon after, several other Pixel and Android device users also noticed the same and took their concerns to social media.
Update to the most recent version of WhatsApp
WhatsApp was quick enough to get in touch with the Twitter engineer, Foad Dabiri, and concluded that it was an Android-related bug, which misattributed microphone information in their Privacy Dashboard. The company also noted in a response tweet that it has contacted Google regarding the issue.
The search engine giant advises users to update to the most recent version of WhatsApp to get rid of the glitch, which should clear things up for users. This procedure aids with both problem fixes and the addition of the newest features to the messaging system. In relation to this, WhatsApp just released a new update to help users maintain their privacy.
This update includes spam call filtering across the board as well as a new Privacy Checkup center that informs users of the options at their disposal. Additionally, the messaging service owned by Meta launched a new “Channels” feature at the beginning of this month to improve one-way broadcasting. In order to uphold privacy standards, users who join the channels will also have their phone numbers hidden in the “Channels” and for their admins.
