Is WhatsApp secretly eavesdropping on you? How to find out (Update: Statement)

• A Twitter employee has accused WhatsApp of secretly accessing his microphone. He bases this on a log of microphone access on his Pixel phone, which contains suspicious entries.
• Google has since confirmed that this is a bug in the Android system.
• You can check for yourself whether you are being accessed suspiciously.

“You can’t trust WhatsApp,” Twitter boss Elon Musk recently wrote in the short message service. The reason for the verbal attack on the messenger was the tweet from one of his employees. In the settings of his cell phone, he noticed that WhatsApp had accessed his cell phone’s microphone at night, at a time when he said he was sleeping.

He supported his statement with a corresponding screenshot, which Musk also attached to his tweet. Actually, WhatsApp should only use the microphone for calls and when recording videos and voice messages.

That’s what WhatsApp says

WhatsApp responded promptly. They are in contact with the man and believe that the display is an error in Android’s privacy dashboard and have asked Google to check this. The affected Twitter employee uses WhatsApp on a Google Pixel phone.

This is how you check whether WhatsApp has secretly accessed your microphone

Do you want to check whether you are also receiving suspicious microphone access from Messenger? This is easily possible on Android phones. This is how you have to do it:

On Samsung phones you open the settings and then select “Security and privacy”. Then tap on “Privacy” and select “Microphone” in the next window. Then you can see which app accessed your microphone and when.

On Google Pixel phones you open the settings and then also select “Security and privacy”. Then tap on “Privacy” and select “Privacy Dashboard” in the next window. There you have to tap on “Microphone”.

You can also see when WhatsApp is accessing the microphone on the iPhone. All you have to do is activate the “App data protection report” function.

Update May 12: Google confirms Android bugs

In the meantime, Google has confirmed to the US technology blog Engadget that the display in the privacy dashboard is indeed incorrect. The problem is currently being investigated. The error had occurred a few times before and probably only affects some Samsung and Google phones. One possible fix is ​​restarting the phone.

Also interesting…

If you still don’t trust WhatsApp like Elon Musk, you can simply revoke the app’s permission to access the microphone. In the linked article, we explain how you have to proceed and which permissions you can also safely deny the Messenger.

Is WhatsApp secretly eavesdropping on you? Here’s how to find out (update statement)