Why did it look like WhatsApp had unlimited microphone access on my phone just now?
So just like most of you guys out there, I have WhatsApp installed on one of the best Android phones on the market — my Pixel 6a. I use the app to stay in touch with family and to double check suspicious IMs.
Now, that last part is important, because hits — naturally — puts my profile at risk. As such, a few days ago, I was in shock, because after a quick call via the instant messaging app, the green microphone access indicator on the top right of my screen stays on.
Mark Zuckerberg was listening to me!
Yes, I freaked out. Despite being the guy who wrote the guide on how to stay safe from Malware, that doesn’t make my phone immune to malicious software. Nor does it make me any less of a risk-taker. By which I mean bad decision maker, but you get my point.
Well, luckily, thanks to a tweet from Android Developers, I can now rest assured that it was just a bug. Right?Right?
Well, it turns out that this has happened to many other users online, so we can start a support group WhatsApp chat if you’d like to. The good news is that it was just a false alarm, though, so this will maybe, probably not happen again.
As of now, we can say that no damage has been done — beyond potential emotional scarring. If you happen to find yourself in this bug-a-licious situation, just restart your phone and it should be fine. Right? Right?...
Now, that last part is important, because hits — naturally — puts my profile at risk. As such, a few days ago, I was in shock, because after a quick call via the instant messaging app, the green microphone access indicator on the top right of my screen stays on.
Yes, I freaked out. Despite being the guy who wrote the guide on how to stay safe from Malware, that doesn’t make my phone immune to malicious software. Nor does it make me any less of a risk-taker. By which I mean bad decision maker, but you get my point.
Well, luckily, thanks to a tweet from Android Developers, I can now rest assured that it was just a bug. Right?Right?
A recent Android bug affecting a limited number of WhatsApp users produced erroneous privacy indicators and notifications in the Android Privacy Dashboard.
— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) June 21, 2023
Users can now update their WhatsApp app to address this issue.
We thank WhatsApp for their partnership and apologize…
Well, it turns out that this has happened to many other users online, so we can start a support group WhatsApp chat if you’d like to. The good news is that it was just a false alarm, though, so this will maybe, probably not happen again.
WhatsApp — as far as we know — did not actually have unlimited, full-time access to your microphone in order to siphon out data to Meta’s attention-span-analysis farms. The privacy dashboard overestimated the risk at hand and some friendly neighbor-web Google engineers took care of the issue.
And, while on the subject: kudos to Meta and WhatsApp’s team for collaborating with Google on this one, as the fix actually rolled out through a patch to the IM app. So, if you’ve had this weird bug happen to you: you probably have a pending update right now.
And, while on the subject: kudos to Meta and WhatsApp’s team for collaborating with Google on this one, as the fix actually rolled out through a patch to the IM app. So, if you’ve had this weird bug happen to you: you probably have a pending update right now.
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