WhatsApp Says Bug Causing Android Devices To Falsely Report Mic Access After Twitter Engineer Alleged Meta-Owned App Using Microphone in the Background

San Francisco, May 10: Meta-owned WhatsApp and Google have acknowledged a bug that seems to be allowing WhatsApp to access phones' microphones unnecessarily on some Android devices.

The issue first surfaced a month ago but received renewed attention after a Twitter engineer mentioned it in a post boosted by Elon Musk, reports Engadget.  WhatsApp Using Mic Without Consent? MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar Says 'Unacceptable Breach and Violation of Privacy' After Twitter Engineer Alleges Meta-Owned App Using Microphone in the Background.

Twitter engineer Foad Dabiri recently shared an image that raised concerns about the app's privacy practices. The image appeared to show that the app's microphone was continuously running in the background, even when not in use.

Dabiri tweeted a screenshot from the Privacy Dashboard on his Android device, which revealed how frequently the app accessed his microphone and camera.

"WhatsApp has been using the microphone in the background while I was asleep and since I woke up at 6 a.m. (and that's just a part of the timeline!) What's going on?" he tweeted.  Later, Musk retweeted Dabiri's post, saying, "WhatsApp cannot be trusted".

According to a statement shared on Twitter by WhatsApp, the problem was caused by an Android-related issue rather than inappropriate microphone access by the messaging app. WhatsApp Blames Android Bug After Twitter Engineer Alleges Meta-Owned App Using Microphone in the Background, Says Users Have Full Control Over Mic Settings.

"We believe this is a bug on Android that misattributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate," the company said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2023 02:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).