It Is High Time: WhatsApp Fixes an Outrageous Shared Media Security Bug

The popular messaging app, WhatsApp, has recently announced they are fixing a bug that can compromise the security of chatting within the app and confuse users into thinking some part of their conversations is entirely private. It refers to the self-destructing media feature that the messenger introduced in August 2021 on all its supported platforms. The capability allows users to share content like videos or photos that the person on the other end of the line can only view once before they disappear.

However, until recently, WhatsApp continued to save all media files that you sent via self-destructing chats to the device memory. Although such files were erased from the messenger, as they should, they remained in your smartphone's media library. The loophole defeated the very purpose of the feature, which implied that all your chat would disappear after a while, and there would be no going back.

WhatsApp developers say the messenger will stop automatically downloading self-destructing media files to your device. The "Save to camera roll" option no is now disabled for disappearing chats. When trying to change this new setting, the user will be prompted to disable disappearing messages for a specific conversation first. It is worth noting that the user who needs to save shared media from a self-destructing chat can still do so manually on a per-file basis.

This tweak has already been rolled out for the general public using Android and iPhone devices. Furthermore, since it has a retroactive effect, it will apply to media from old disappearing chats.

Were you bothered that your supposedly disappearing media were still visible in your smartphone gallery? Do you believe that this WhatsApp security fix will make the app more trustworthy? Let us know what you think in the comments below!