An Apple spokesperson did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment, and as of Thursday, WhatsApp-tracking apps continued to be available in its App Store. There are dozens of them available on the Google Play store and Apple's iOS App Store - raising questions as to which checks the two tech platforms are conducting to monitor for invasive apps.Ī Google spokesperson didn't provide comment by the time of publication but pointed to the company's rules prohibiting "spyware," and many of the tracking apps were removed from the Google Play store on Thursday morning. WhatsApp-tracking apps have proliferated on both Google's and Apple's mobile-app stores. The apps attempt to monitor whom you're talking to We also request that app stores remove apps that abuse our brand and violate our terms of service."Ī screenshot from Apple's App Store of an iPhone app that tracks users' activity on WhatsApp and helps users figure out whom people are talking to on the app. We maintain automated anti-abuse systems that identify and prevent abuse by apps that attempt to detect information from WhatsApp users, and we are constantly working to improve our systems over time. In a statement, a WhatsApp spokesperson said: "WhatsApp provides privacy controls to users to protect their profile photo, 'last seen' and 'about' status. "I can't think of a single good legitimate use of this." "You can imagine what an abuser might do with that information or, say, an employer using this to track if their employees are talking on WhatsApp during the workday, or somebody in law enforcement seeing if people are talking on WhatsApp during a protest," Cooper Quintin, a senior security researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), said of the WhatsApp-tracking apps. The invasive apps resemble a less-severe version of "stalkerware" - covert software people use to spy on others' messages and devices that is sometimes used for controlling purposes in abusive relationships. The apps don't expose the content of WhatsApp users' messages or otherwise reveal what the users share or receive.īut they advertise themselves to prospective customers as helping them determine when other people are sleeping, when they're using WhatsApp, and even whom they're talking to on the app - which they do by comparing multiple people's activity logs and seeing which ones match up. But when these apps harvest this data constantly over days and weeks, the services are able to aggregate and build detailed profiles of WhatsApp users' activity and interactions. In isolation, this is a relatively innocuous piece of information. WhatsApp's vulnerability stems from the feature that publicly indicates whether a user is "online" (i.e., using the app) at any given moment. These intrusive apps highlight how even services that strongly protect users' privacy in some ways - like WhatsApp's commitment to encryption - can still expose data that can be used to track their users. These apps and services use the "online" signaling feature within WhatsApp to enable their users to monitor the digital habits of anyone using WhatsApp without their knowledge or consent, Business Insider has found. WhatsApp prides itself on its approach to privacy.īut the user data that the Facebook-owned messaging app shares publicly is allowing dozens of outside apps to track aspects of WhatsApp users' online activity - including whom they're likely talking to, when they're sleeping, and when they're using their devices. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.A WhatsApp spokesperson said the apps break its rules, and Google took down many of the apps after Business Insider reached out.The apps highlight how despite WhatsApp's focus on privacy, it still shares data that can be used to track its users' activities.They use WhatsApp's "online" feature, which broadcasts users' status publicly, and make no attempt to hide what they do.The apps can monitor whom people are likely talking to on the Facebook-owned app, when they're online, and when they're sleeping.There are dozens of apps that can track the online activity of WhatsApp users.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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