WhatsApp ‘unsend’ feature fails to delete photos you’ve sent to iPhones, users warned
IF YOU'VE ever unsent an embarrassing photo on WhatsApp, you may want to sleep with one eye open.
A flaw in the messaging app means the feature – which allows you to retract messages, photos and more within a few seconds of sending them – is far from secure on iPhone.
A cyber security expert found that photos "unsent" on WhatsApp for iOS aren't deleted properly by the app.
This means your photo still saves to your recipient’s iPhone, even if WhatsApp shows a "This message has been deleted" confirmation.
That's because WhatsApp saves all photos shared with you to your iPhone's camera roll by default.
So while the picture may be deleted in chat, it's still sent to your phone's memory, where it can stay forever.
App security consultant Shitesh Sachan discovered the WhatsApp flaw.
He said the problem is due to a bug in WhatsApp for iOS, and does not affect Android users.
We tried to replicate the flaw here at The Sun's office and can confirm it leaves iPhone users exposed.
When Mr Sachan reported the issue to WhatsApp, the company said it would not resolve the issue.
WhatsApp – a quick history
Here's what you need to know...
- WhatsApp was created in 2009 by computer programmers Brian Acton and Jan Koum - former employees of Yahoo
- It's one of the most popular messaging services in the world
- Koum came up with the name WhatsApp because it sounded like "what's up"
- After a number of tweaks the app was released with a messaging component in June 2009, with 250,000 active users
- It was originally free but switched to a paid service to avoid growing too fast. Then in 2016, it became free again for all users
- Facebook bought WhatsApp Inc in February 2014 for $19.3billion (£14.64bn)
- The app is particularly popular because all messages are encrypted during transit, shutting out snoopers
- As of January 2018, WhatsApp has over 1.5billion users globally
WhatsApp said: “The functionality provided via ‘Delete for Everyone’ is intended to delete the message and there is no guarantee that the media (or message) will be permanently deleted—the implementation focuses around the message presence in WhatsApp."
A spokesperson later told The Sun: "This feature is working properly, and using the 'delete for everyone' feature in time will result in media being removed from the WhatsApp chat thread.
"We provide simple options to help iPhone users manage the media they receive from friends and family, per the best practices established by operating systems.
"If a user chooses to save images to their camera roll they are stored out of reach of WhatsApp’s 'delete for everyone feature.'"
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In other news, this cheeky trick lets you change your font in WhatsApp.
Find out how to read deleted WhatsApp messages on your iPhone or Android.
And read our guide on how to secretly read WhatsApp texts without the sender knowing.
Are you worried by the WhatsApp issue? Let us know in the comments!
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