PSA: Anyone can tell if you are using WhatsApp on your computer | TechCrunch
techcrunch.comWhile not the most dangerous leak, digital security experts say it’s not ideal situation and in some cases could help target WhatsApp.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
Tal Be’ery, the co-founder and CTO of crypto wallet maker ZenGo, found that it’s possible to determine whether a user on WhatsApp is using more than just the mobile app.
Be’ery demonstrated and proved his findings in tests performed with WhatsApp numbers controlled by TechCrunch.
“[It] could be useful for information gathering and plotting an attack,” Runa Sandvik, a digital security expert, told TechCrunch, referring to how hackers could figure out that their target is using WhatsApp on a desktop, which is generally an easier target to compromise than a mobile phone.
“It at least tells you more about the devices they use and how ‘accessible’ their WhatsApp setup may be,” said Sandivk, who is the founder of Granitt, a startup that aims to train at-risk people like journalists, activists, and politicians.
Meta’s spokesperson Zade Alsawah told TechCrunch that the company received Be’ery’s research and concluded that the app’s current design “is what users want and expect.”
Anyone can find out this kind of information by using WhatsApp on the web and inspecting traffic with a browser’s developer tool, Be’ery explained.
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