Alert! WhatsApp status flaw allows stalkers to track users online

The vulnerability comes through the app’s default online status feature.

A security flaw in WhatsApp could potentially allow third parties to cyberstalk users using the app’s default online status feature.

According to NDTV, cybersecurity firm Traced has discovered several iPhone and Android apps, as well as some web services, that can tell cyberstalkers when a user is active on WhatsApp. These services can be used by third parties to monitor users’ status even without their consent.

“You can enter any mobile phone number, and if that person uses WhatsApp, the status tracker will provide the exact date and time that person opened WhatsApp,” the company explained in a blog post.

Traced revealed that though these apps are usually marketed as a way for users to know when their contacts come online, it is routinely misused by cybercriminals.

Unlike other features, WhatsApp doesn’t offer a way to disable the feature that automatically shows if a user is online, leaving it open to exploitation by cyberstalkers.

Some WhatsApp online status trackers are also found to allow users to enter the phone numbers of two individuals. This helps to presume whether both users are chatting with each other on the app at a particular time.