Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp at Meta Group, posted an alarming tweet on Monday.

It warns users about the danger of fake WhatsApp apps that promise extra features.

In the rest of his tweet, the manager of the messaging application particularly points to "Hey WhatsApp", which can be downloaded from the Play Store.

His team would have detected malware intended to steal users' personal data.

Reminder to @WhatsApp users that downloading a fake or modified version of WhatsApp is never a good idea.

These apps sound harmless but they may work around WhatsApp privacy and security guarantees.

To-thread:

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) July 11, 2022


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“Downloading a fake or modded version of WhatsApp is never a good idea.

These apps seem harmless, but they can circumvent WhatsApp's privacy and security safeguards,” Will Cathcart warns.

The manager then reminded that it is imperative to download the WhatsApp application through the official store or on the website of the messaging service.

This problem only affects Android phone users, who have access to a multitude of apps on the Play Store.

iPhone owners can't download apps that aren't approved by the App Store.

However, the legislation should change in the coming years and end Apple's monopoly on application management following a decision by the European Parliament.

Conversation security is a major theme for the Meta group, which claims to work constantly on the confidentiality of exchanges between users.

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  • WhatsApp

  • Messaging

  • Application

  • Personal data

  • high tech