Elon Musk Slams Mark Zuckerberg’s WhatsApp, Reveals Shocking Privacy Issue

Tech giant rivals Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are at it again. This time, it involves your privacy as Musk has just made a revelation exposing a privacy flaw in WhatsApp.

The Tesla CEO recently slammed WhatsApp on Twitter after reports that the Zuckerberg-owned app is listening to its users.

One user claimed that the messaging app reached onto their phone’s mics while they were sleeping, to which Musk replied that the app “cannot be trusted.”

After only a few weeks, this is the second time the Telsa billionaire slammed his tech contender, Zuckerberg. He accused the latter of being “biased” for his support of Democratic campaigns.

WhatsApp cannot be trusted https://t.co/3gdNxZOLLy

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023

WhatsApp’s Shocking Privacy Flaw Uncovered

The user who reported the privacy issue, Foad Dabiri, shared a screenshot showing how his WhatsApp mic was activated nine times between 4:20 am and 6:53 am. It all occurred while he was sleeping.

In addition, Dabiri wasn’t the only one who experienced the sudden switching of the app’s mic. A few months ago, several WhatsApp users also reported the same incident of the activation of the microphone in the background.

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Other users advised restarting the smartphones to fix the problem. One Reddit user suggested to, “Tap the mic access notification shortcut to toggle it off, then turn it back on.”

This incident is widespread on Reddit as many other users notice that using the messaging app activates the microphone. Ten days ago, one user posted the same situation as Dabiri’s.

Elon Musk says 'WhatsApp cannot be trusted' after man reports it was recoding him in his sleep https://t.co/YOMA0gpXa1 pic.twitter.com/HXED5WuDbA

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 10, 2023

The Reddit user said, ‘The green dot in the status bar is turned on nonstop all day. When I click on it says WhatsApp accessing microphone every 3-4 minutes.’

In addition, some users believe that the issue is due to a bug, while others claim that it happened a lot of times for it to be a flaw. When an app is accessing a mobile phone’s microphone, a green appears on the top right of an Android.

While for iPhones, an orange dot would appear if any app is accessing the microphone on an iOs device. Clicking on these icons will show which app uses the microphone or camera.

How to Prevent This Privacy Issue

To avoid any privacy intrusion, users can go to the app’s permission page and restrict it from mic or camera access. As the incident continues, users still monitor their devices for any signs of unauthorized mic access.

In response to these issues, WhatsApp suggested that Dabiri’s experience “is a bug on Android” and has been happening for months.

WhatsApp also tweeted that Google’s Privacy Dashboard may be the cause for the sudden microphone activations. Google owns the service, and it allows users to monitor when and which apps are accessing their data.

The META-owned app also believes that the Android bugs misapplied details within the Privacy Dashboard, resulting in incorrect switching of microphones.

Furthermore, a Twitter user has advised WhatsApp to sue Elon Musk for defamation if their claim is proven true. However, the company didn’t reply.

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Musk Continues to Criticize Zuckerberg and His Company Meta

The two tech lords have continuous public barbs and show no signs of backing down. Last year, Elon Musk sarcastically referred to Zuckerberg as “Zuckerberg the 14th,” which is about the META CEO’s too much control over public debates within his apps.

Yeah.

Or that WhatsApp founders left Meta/Facebook in disgust, started #deletefacebook campaign & made major contributions to building Signal.

What they learned about Facebook & changes to WhatsApp obviously disturbed them greatly.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023

In addition, META revealed plans to release a Twitter-like app, further fueling their rivalry. Furthermore, Musk’s recent tweet slamming WhatsApp’s privacy flaws has gone viral.

In his reply to a comment highlighting Meta’s ownership of WhatsApp, Musk noted that WhatsApp founders had left the company. Facebook acquired Whatsapp in 2014 for $16 billion and has almost two billion active users worldwide.

Musk also tweeted, promoting for #deletefacebook campaign while adding to the development of the Signal messaging app.