WhatsApp has millions of users across the globe making it a popular cross-platform messaging app. With a huge user base, the platform is also prone to many different types of attacks and hacks. According to a recent report, stalkers these days are using WhatsApp Online Status Tracker websites and apps to stalk users.
With the help of such services, stalkers and hackers are also able to access some of their personal information. The report also claims that these trackers are also being used to find out who is texting whom.
These trackers are basically taking advantage of WhatsApp’s online feature. Even if you do not have someone’s number saved, WhatsApp will tell you when they come online. However, you might not be able to see their last seen status, which depends on their privacy settings.
Traced CTO Matt Boddy took advantage of some of these WhatsApp online status trackers that helped him keep track of the exact time and date the person came online. Basically, once you feed someone’s number in, the website or app starts tracking the person’s WhatsApp activity and on basis of the tracking, the platform will tell you when the user last came online and how much time did he spend on the messaging app.
Google Play Store did react to the availability of such apps by saying, “Acceptable forms of these apps can be used by parents to track their children. However, these apps cannot be used to track a person (a spouse, for example) without their knowledge or permission unless a persistent notification is displayed while the data is being transmitted.”
Commenting on this, Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity, EFF had said in a statement, “This is just sloppy work on the part of WhatsApp and a typical example of what happens when companies don’t think about abusive relationships when they’re making their design decisions. WhatsApp should have given users the power to turn off their online status from the very beginning, and they need to fix this ASAP.”
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