Google tackled the microphone access bug affecting WhatsApp

Updated on: 23 June 2023

Paulina Okunytė
Journalist

Google acknowledges the bug and users are urged to update WhatsApp after a privacy issue involving access to the microphone was reported last month.

On June 21st, a tweet from Google urged Android users to update their WhatsApp app in order to fix a bug allowing access to the device’s microphone.

The company admitted that the bug on Android caused “erroneous” privacy indicators and notifications in the Android Privacy Dashboard.

“We thank WhatsApp for their partnership and apologize for any confusion this bug may have caused users,” said Google.

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Reported privacy concerns

Last month, multiple users reported privacy concerns related to Meta's WhatsApp platform. The issue revolved around instances where the microphone was being used, even when the app was supposed to be inactive.

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While the issue was reported on various Android devices, it primarily affected owners of Samsung and Pixel phones. Microphone activity was visible through the “green dot” indicator that appears whenever the microphone or camera is in use.

WhatsApp denied any wrong-doing in a tweet, blaming a bug on Android that “mis-attributes information in their Privacy Dashboard.” The company stated they have asked Google to investigate the problem.