Crypto wallet Zengo team finds WhatsApp privacy vulnerability still not fully fixed

WhatsApp’s “disappearing media” feature has finally been fixed, after the issue was first discovered by the technical team at crypto wallet startup Zengo a few months ago. WhatsApp introduced the “View Once” feature, which allowed users to send pictures and videos that automatically deleted after viewing, protecting users’ privacy. In August, however, Zengo’s team discovered that the feature could be “easily bypassed” when using the platform’s web app. Its team said it disclosed the issue to WhatsApp, but when it was discovered that it had been “widely exploited,” they made their findings public “to protect the privacy of WhatsApp users.” WhatsApp quickly issued a patch, but this reportedly still allowed the supposedly deleted pictures to be viewed. Now the platform says it has rolled out a more comprehensive software update. In a separate blog post on Monday, Zengo co-founder Tal Be’ery explained that while the fix is ​​“a big improvement over the original,” it’s not perfect. He added, "The fix still allows other sender devices (which should not display the 'view once' message) to receive the message. This may introduce unnecessary risk as it increases the attack surface for no reason. (Protos)