আম্সারিযাতেতা ঵াস্টাপ মিক্রোফোন মাক্যাহা?

New Delhi: WhatsApp is one of the most used instant messaging platforms globally with more than 200 crore users in 180 countries. But WhatsApp seems to be secretly using the device’s mic even when not in use, according to a tweet by Twitter engineer Ford Dabiri.

These Twitter employees are not the only ones facing problems. A recent report from PunicWeb indicates reports from several users complaining about the same. The issue appears to affect multiple Android phones, indicating the complaint is widespread and affects people regardless of their model or Android version.

Tweet of Twitter engineer Ford Dabiri with screenshot showing timeline of WhatsApp mic usage. Many users are now concerned about their privacy, and doubt whether you record audio in the background. Twitter CEO Elon Musk said ‘Can’t trust WhatsApp’.

The screenshot shows the tweet of ‘Privacy Dashboard’, a feature introduced in Android 12 that keeps logs of apps with sensitive permissions like camera, microphone, location data. Users can also view a list of apps that have requested permissions with a timestamp. These are also indicated by a green icon on the right side of the notification panel when the device’s camera or microphone is in use.

Shortly after a Twitter engineer tweeted about you using a microphone in the background, WhatsApp clarified that it was ‘a bug in Android incorrectly attributing information in their privacy dashboard’. Google has been asked to investigate the incident and efforts are on to find a solution.
Whatsapp said.

‘Users have complete control over their mic settings’ and when users are allowed to use the microphone, WhatsApp only uses it when making a call or recording voice notes or videos, and communications are end-to-end encrypted, the company said. This is unacceptable and a violation of privacy and the central government will soon investigate it, tweeted Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrashekhar.