WhatsApp’s new status flaw allows stalkers to track women

WhatsApp is the most used messaging app on the planet. Despite the fact that the app has millions of users around the world, some flaws in it can jeopardize their private information. Stalkers and cybercriminals are using WhatsApp Online Status Tracker websites and applications to harass users, gain access to their personal information, and more, according to Traced’s latest reports. The trackers can also be used to find out who is texting whom, according to the report.

 

News Highlights

Websites like WhatsApp Online Status Tracker are being used by stalkers to gather information about users

The apps can also be used to see who is texting whom and for other purposes

While Google has made it illegal to advertise stalkerware on the Play Store, plenty of tracking and monitoring apps have managed to bypass the ban by claiming to assist parents in tracking their children

 

 

Traced stated, “Cyberstalkers typically like to collect as much information about their target as possible. They want to know where they are at any given moment; who they’re meeting; who they’re talking to; what their texts say; who they’re emailing; what they’re browsing for online. Knowledge is power, and having this level of power over someone is intoxicating, dangerous and profoundly unethical”.

 

Also read: New WhatsApp bug allows cybercriminals to deactivate your account

 

When anyone opens WhatsApp, their profile shows that they are “Online” right away. Any user will see this, and even if you haven’t saved a user’s phone number, you can see if they are online or not. Anyone can access this information, but there are WhatsApp status trackers that constantly monitor users’ statuses.

 

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Source: Traced

 

CTO of Traced, Matt Brody used a couple of these WhatsApp status trackers, which showed the precise time and date that someone went online. These apps work quite simply; all you have to do is type a person’s WhatsApp number into the status tracker app or website, and you’ll find out when and for how long they were online on WhatsApp. The Traced report describes how these apps operate but does not name them in order to avoid endorsing them and providing stalkers with a simple list of apps to access.

 

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According to Traced, one of the applications it discovered claimed to expose cheating spouses or partners. “If you suspect a cheating spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, for example WhatsApp last seen tracker online will help you to confirm whether your suspicions are really true,” according to the app description. Another tracker claimed to keep parents updated on their children’s whereabouts. This means the tracker can assist in determining when the person first went online and who he is texting. These applications are installed on the stalker’s device rather than the victim’s.

 

While Google has made it illegal to advertise stalkerware on the Play Store, plenty of tracking and monitoring apps have managed to bypass the ban by claiming to assist parents in tracking their children.

“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,” Google stated in its policy.

 

 

Apart from applications, there are websites that can monitor users without the need for app store permissions or approvals. Traced app found a website that claimed, “Our service allows you to track the online status of a WhatsApp user, as well as with whom he is texting and at what time”

 

What’s odd is that WhatsApp has no way of preventing these applications and websites from monitoring its users, and as previously said, users have no way of knowing whether they are being watched. If you can cover the “Last Seen” feature on WhatsApp, you can’t do anything about the “Online” status feature.