A specific security bug is allowing users to bypass new privacy controls introduced by Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp on iPhones, WhatsApp said Wednesday after users took to social media to report the problem. The company has now released an update for its iPhone app that provides a fix for the bug, the version number 2.19.22 in App Store, Gadgets.ndtv wrote Friday.
WhatsApp had earlier introduced a special feature that stipulates that iPhone users comply with touch ID or Face ID safety requirements to open the application, but users managed to get around the log-in measures by making use of the “share” function, which makes it possible to send files via WhatsApp.
Verification through Touch ID or Face ID is commonly required either immediately upon log-in, or after some time, with possible intervals reaching an hour, during which users are still able to switch applications on their smartphones. Interestingly, if one presses any option other than “immediately,” the security system fails, which was described at length on Reddit by a user, who goes by the name of "u/de_X_ter”.
WhatsApp reacted to the reports without delay at the time:
“We are aware of the issue and a fix will be available shortly. In the meantime, we recommend that people set the screen lock option to ‘immediately’”, a company spokesperson told Reuters in an email.
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In January, it emerged that there is a way to read messages that were deleted from WhatsApp: it appeared possible to learn the contents of a letter earlier pulled from a message exchange by first deleting the messaging service from the gadget altogether and then restoring it.
