In May, a Twitter user raised concerns that WhatsApp on Android might wake the microphone and listen in the background. Google acknowledged that a bug in the operating system, not the app, was involved, a clarification shared via a tech information portal.
The original poster, who echoed the claim and stated that WhatsApp could not be trusted, drew attention from Elon Musk, the head of the social platform. Following the chatter, WhatsApp representatives responded, explaining that the issue stemmed from the Android system rather than any deliberate eavesdropping by the messenger developers. They urged Google to investigate and verify the root cause.
Shortly thereafter, Google confirmed that the problem encountered by the WhatsApp user originated with a bug in the privacy control interface of the Android OS, not with WhatsApp’s software itself.
As a result, users might worry that the app is accessing the microphone or camera in the background. In reality, this activity did not occur. Google is actively pursuing a fix and expects the resolution to appear in the upcoming Android update. The clarification helps separate the perception of background access from the actual behavior of the app and the operating system’s privacy controls.
Earlier reports indicated that Telegram had surpassed WhatsApp in popularity among school-age users in Russia, a trend noted by media outlets at the time and discussed in regional technology conversations. The broader takeaway is the importance of transparent privacy settings and accurate bug reporting for messaging platforms used by diverse audiences across Canada and the United States.