Google announced that it is working to fix the bugs in granting WhatsApp microphone access to Android phones. Some Android users last month encountered an error that provided access to the WhatsApp microphone all the time, while WhatsApp then explained it as a Google and Android issue.
Whatsapp said: “We believe this is an Android error that offends the information in their privacy dashboard, and we have asked Google to investigate and process it.”
Google confirmed this issue and acknowledged it in a tweet, Google said, “Android’s recent error that affected a limited number of WhatsApp users produced false privacy indicators and notifications in the Android privacy dashboard.”
Google has prompted users to update WhatsApp where a fix was introduced to address the issue.
Android Developers tweeted, “Thank you WhatsApp for their partnership and we apologize for any confusion this error may have caused users.”
What's wrong with Android?
Twitter engineer Fouad Dabury tweeted about an error on WhatsApp, using the microphone in the background, saying, “While I was asleep and since I woke up at 6am (this is just part of the schedule!) What happens?".
His tweet evoked a response from Elon Musk where he said: “WhatsApp cannot be trusted.”
Dabury shared a screenshot of an Android console that showed microphone access was on for WhatsApp.
Users have the option to allow and access applications and not allow them to be used in the background.
WhatsApp explained and confirmed that it gives users full control over their microphone settings.
“Once permission is granted, WhatsApp only accesses the microphone when the user makes a call or makes an audio or video note – until then, these communications are protected by end-to-end encryption so that WhatsApp cannot hear them.”
