WhatsApp Snooping – How Your Partner Can Secretly Read All Your Messages

Sometimes you don’t have to worry about remote hackers, but those much closer to home. Even now, your loved ones can receive all your private WhatsApp messages on their devices without you knowing – this is how you check and then make sure this hasn’t happened to you…

A disturbing piece of news making the rounds this week shows how easy it is for your partner or other friends, family and colleagues to secretly clone your WhatsApp account on one of their devices, reading every message you receive and send in real time – all without your knowledge.

WhatsApp’s “connected devices” feature allows you to send and receive messages on your desktop, laptop or iPad using the web app. You can even connect to another phone, as long as it isn’t already running WhatsApp.

I assumed everyone knew this feature existed, but asking about it is not true. And if you don’t know it’s there and your partner and perhaps children have access to your unlocked phone or password, it can be done quickly and you’ll never know. I’m sure you have nothing to hide, but still…

To connect a device, all it takes is unfettered access to someone’s phone for a minute or two, which is enough time to point the phone at the QR code on the other device and then clear any notifications from the target phone. As one site explains, “the spy simply needs to hold onto the victim’s smartphone long enough and then suddenly ask, ‘Can I borrow your phone quickly?’ is not as harmless as it seems.

ForbesGoogle’s new artificial intelligence feature is “extremely dangerous,” warn Android usersBy Zak Doffman

Fortunately, this is very easy to check and stop. In WhatsApp, go to Settings – Connected devices and make sure you recognize everything that’s listed. If you haven’t connected any of your devices and you see links there, or if there are links you don’t recognize, log out immediately. The same threats and security controls apply to most instant messaging applications that connect this way rather than through a trusted device architecture.

As ESET’s Jake Moore warns, “linking devices allows prying eyes to view messages on another device, but it also leaves a trace of evidence that can be seen in settings. “Users can check on their connected devices if they suspect their messages may have been viewed on another device, but it’s also a good idea to check regularly, even without any suspicions, to keep your account private.”

Your partner could, of course, go one step further and install spyware on your device. This is harder to detect. However, if you are worried, you can find tips (1,2) on how to check apps or system processes, or even strange phone behavior. It’s time-consuming, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

You also need to be careful if you share your Apple iCloud credentials with others, as some spy apps can use them to download backups. You can easily set a different email address and password for purchases than your primary iCloud and backup account if you want to share purchased media but are unsure.

Meanwhile, the fact that the connected devices story has been widely reported on TikTok – where it is one of many and has also been picked up by the media – increases the risk. It can be seen as a guide and it is inevitable that people will try to do the same. So be sure to check it out.

Another security feature you can take advantage of is WhatsApp’s brand new locked chats, which allows you to set a different passcode to keep your most sensitive messages safe in a separate folder. This is worth remembering.

WhatsApp advises: “Check your connected devices regularly… check all devices connected to your account.” If your connected device doesn’t do anything to your account, it will also be deleted after about a month. However, if you don’t constantly check, reconnecting will be easy. When the device Is connected, your phone may receive a push notification, but it won’t help if it’s connected to spying at the time. If you are a spy, remember that the notification may appear some time after you first log in.

ForbesWhy you should never use your credit card on these websitesBy Zak Doffman

Taking into account the advice given to spies, they can “view the victim’s entire chat history on the computer and browse it at their leisure. The flow of juicy details continues as WhatsApp chat history is updated every time the victim’s smartphone connects to the home Wi-Fi network. It’s a good idea to regularly check the list of connected devices for instant messaging on the phone you use for sensitive purposes.

For snoopers: remember that if you read a message, it will also show as read on your primary device with a blue checkmark – and this can be a sure sign that you’re spying. You can turn off read receipts in your WhatsApp account – there’s another setting that many aren’t aware of. This doesn’t work for group chats though, so be careful.

WhatApp and other apps don’t send your entire chat history when your device is connected, and the number of existing messages you sync depends on the type of connected device and network connection, but it’s still likely to cause problems – if Down have something to hide.