New Delhi:

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk today targeted Meta-owned WhatsApp for allegedly exporting users’ data every night.

An X user posted that WhatsApp exports user data every night, which is “analysed and used for targeted advertising, making users the product, not the customer”.

Elon Musk replied that “WhatsApp exports your user data every night”. “Some people still think it is secure,” said the tech billionaire.

Meta or WhatsApp were yet to comment on Elon Musk’s allegation.

WhatsApp exports your user data every night.

Some people still think it is secure. https://t.co/LxDs7t7HSv

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 25, 2024

Computer programmer and video game developer, John Carmack, responded to Elon Musk, saying is there any evidence that the content of messages is ever scanned or transmitted?

“I assume usage patterns and routing metadata is collected, and if you invoke a bot in a conversation you are obviously opening it up, but I am still under the impression that the message contents are secure by default,” John Carmack posted on X.

The X owner has attacked Mark Zuckerberg-run Meta Platform in the past too.

Earlier this month, the billionaire claimed that Meta is super greedy at taking credit for advertisers who run campaigns on its platform.

The rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg is well known.

They were apparently set for a “cage fight’ some time back – dubbed as the fight of the century. However, the showdown between the tech leaders never happened.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

WhatsApp fraud, or WhatsApp scams, involve deceptive schemes aimed at manipulating users of the messaging platform into divulging personal details, transferring funds, or installing malicious software. These scams encompass a range of tactics, leveraging trust, fear, or greed. Among the existing types of WhatsApp scams, like impersonation, phishing, investment, and gift or prize scams, a new variant has recently emerged.

Now users have to be cautious of unexpected calls from group members on WhatsApp. A new audio call scam is targeting users, potentially draining their savings accounts, according to The Metro.

Action Fraud, the UK’s leading cybercrime reporting centre, has received hundreds of complaints from victims. The scam involves a fraudster impersonating a member of a WhatsApp group chat. They’ll often use a fake profile picture and display name to appear legitimate.

The scammer then initiates a call and informs the victim that they’ll be receiving a one-time passcode (OTP) to join a group video call. However, the real purpose is to gain access to the victim’s account. They’ll trick the victim into sharing the OTP under the guise of “registering” for the call.

In reality, the OTP is used to register the victim’s WhatsApp account on a new device, effectively taking control of it. Scammers can then use the compromised account to target the victim’s friends and family, potentially requesting money or spreading further scams.

In reality, the code provided is actually an access code that grants the scammer control over the victim’s WhatsApp account by registering it on a different device. Subsequently, the scammer activates two-step verification, effectively locking the victim out of their own account. With this control, the scammer can then exploit the victim’s contacts by sending messages, often soliciting money under false pretences of dire circumstances.

Detective Superintendent Gary Miles, head of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau at the City of London Police, told The Metro: “WhatsApp remains an integral mode of communication for many people across the UK; however, fraudsters still find ways to infiltrate these platforms. Sadly, anyone can become a target for fraud.”

Meta-owned WhatsApp has said it banned more than 79 lakh accounts in India in the month of March, in compliance with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Between the March 1-31 period, 7,954,000 WhatsApp accounts were banned and 1,430,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users, the company said in its monthly compliance report.

The messaging platform, which has more than 500 million users in India, received a record 12,782 complaint reports in March in the country, and the records “actioned” were 11.

“Accounts Actioned” means reports where WhatsApp took remedial action based on the plaint and taking action denotes either banning an account or a previously banned account being restored as a result.

“We respond to all grievances received except in cases where a grievance is deemed to be a duplicate of a previous ticket. An account is ‘actioned’ when an account is banned or a previously banned account is restored, as a result of a complaint,” the company said.

Between February 1-29, the company had banned “7,628,000 accounts”.

About 1,424,000 of these accounts were proactively banned, before any reports from users.

According to the company, in addition to safety features and controls, “We employ a team of engineers, data scientists, analysts, researchers, and experts in law enforcement, online safety, and technology developments to oversee these efforts.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

WhatsApp’s updates, no matter how minor, often attract significant attention due to its widespread usage. The app’s recent change in colour scheme has stirred up conversations among its users. Previously known for its blue theme, the app has now adopted a new green colour, a move that has divided opinions among its vast user base. 

People, in India, can also see the change in their apps. If you have recently noticed the green interface on your app, be assured that you are not alone.

Why is WhatsApp green now?

Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, aims to deliver a “modern, new experience” through these changes and “make it more accessible as well as easier to use.”

The company, in a statement, said that they had changed how WhatsApp “looks and feels, including spacing, colours, icons and more.” 

What are the changes?

The update will be noticeable to both iOS and Android users, with Android users seeing a shift in shade from the previous green. 

iPhones, which had a blue colour scheme in WhatsApp, will see that everything from the status bar to the chat-list window has transformed the recent design change. Even the links shared within the app now appear in green instead of blue.

Android users will also see subtle adjustments to the dark mode, which will become even darker, while light mode will offer improved readability with added space. 

Beyond the colour change, WhatsApp has implemented other updates intended to improve its user experience. WhatsApp recently came under scrutiny for capitalising some of its words in its messaging indicators. Some users noticed a change where the first letters of “online” and “typing” were capitalised to “Online” and “Typing” respectively. The change, noticed on both Android and iOS, had sparked significant discussions online. 

New Delhi:

WhatsApp won’t stay if it is made to break encryption of messages, the messaging service platform has told Delhi High Court in a case challenging the amended IT rules. WhatsApp and Facebook (now Meta) have challenged Rule 4(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

This rule lays down that a social media intermediary providing services primarily in the nature of messaging shall enable the identification of the first originator of the information on its computer resource, as may be required by a judicial order passed by a court or competent authority.

Advocate Tejas Karia, appearing for WhatsApp, said people use the platform because of the privacy assured by it and because messages on it are end-to-end encrypted.

“As a platform, we are saying, if we are told to break encryption, then WhatsApp goes,” Mr Karia told a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, a Bar and Bench report said.

The requirement, he said, was against users’ privacy and was introduced without consultation. Mr Karia said this rule will require WhatsApp to store millions of messages for years, a requirement that exists nowhere else in the world. “We will have to keep a complete chain and we don’t know which messages will be asked to be decrypted. It means millions and millions of messages will have to be stored for a number of years,” he said.

He stressed that the parent Information Technology Act does not provide for breaking of encryption. The bench then asked if such a law exists anywhere else in the world. “Have these matters been taken up anywhere in the world? You have never been asked to share the information anywhere in the world? Even in South America?” Mr Karia replied, “No, not even in Brazil.”

Earlier, the Centre told the court that WhatsApp and Facebook monetise users’ information for commercial purposes and are not legally entitled to claim that it protects privacy. The Centre also said regulators of various countries hold that Facebook should be made accountable.

The centre’s counsel Kirtiman Singh contended that people know the things that can happen on social media and the idea behind the rule is to trace the originator of the message. He said there has to be some mechanism to trace messages and underlined that WhatsApp has faced some difficult questions before the US Congress.

The Court called for a balance to be struck and adjourned the matter to August 14. It said these two matters will be heard with a batch of cases that were transferred to the High Court by the Supreme Court.

Opposing the petition by WhatsApp, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has said WhatsApp has already violated fundamental rights of India’s users by denying them any dispute resolution rights in the country.

The ministry has told the court that if IT Rules 2021 are not implemented, law enforcement agencies will have difficulty in tracing the origin of fake messages and such messages will percolate in other platforms, thereby disturbing peace and harmony in the society.

Earlier, WhatsApp had said in a statement, “Requiring messaging apps to ‘trace’ chats is the equivalent of asking us to keep a fingerprint of every single message sent on WhatsApp, which would break end-to-end encryption and fundamentally undermines people’s right to privacy.”

The Centre framed the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 this February.

Apple said on Friday it had removed Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China after being ordered to do so by the Chinese government, which cited national security concerns.

Telegram and Signal – two other foreign messaging apps – were also removed from the store on Friday, according to app tracking firms Qimai and AppMagic.

The removal of the four apps suggests growing intolerance on the part of China’s central government towards at least some foreign online messaging services that fall outside of its control. It also signals less leeway for Apple in China.

That said, other Meta apps including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger remained available to download, according to Reuters checks on Friday. Many other popular apps developed by Western companies including YouTube and X were also available.

It was not immediately clear how WhatsApp or Threads might have caused security concerns for Chinese authorities.

“The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,” Apple said in an emailed statement.

“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” the statement said.

Meta declined to comment and referred queries to Apple.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment on Signal and Telegram. Representatives for the two companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The Cyberspace Administration of China also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

None of the four apps are widely used in China – where Tencent’s WeChat is by far the dominant service.

These apps and many foreign apps are normally blocked on Chinese networks by the “Great Firewall” – the country’s extensive cybersystem of censorship – and can only be used with a virtual private network or other proxy tools.

The four apps remain available in Hong Kong and Macau, China’s two special administrative regions.

Some experts on China’s tech industry said the government order on WhatsApp and Threads could be related to a new rule last August that requires all apps available in China to register with the government or risk being removed.

The deadline for companies to complete registrations was the end of March and the regulations came into effect on April 1.

Apple has removed apps from its China app store before.

In 2017, Apple removed The New York Times news app, saying it violated local regulations – a move that came amid rising news censorship in the world’s second-largest economy. It remains unavailable on Apple’s China App Store.

Last year, Apple pulled a number of ChatGPT-like apps when Beijing was working on local regulations on generative artificial intelligence (AI) services.

The removal of WhatsApp and Threads from the China App Store was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Meta Platforms-owned WhatsApp was down for thousands of users on Wednesday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

There were more than 17,000 incidents of users reporting issues with the messaging platform, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources including user-submitted errors on its platform.

Meanwhile, more than 30,000 users in India, over 67,000 in the United Kingdom and 95,000 in Brazil reported problems with the platform.

Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Messaging platform WhatsApp launched its Telegram-like feature called ‘Channels’ – A one-way broadcast tool for users to follow celebrities and handles of their interest like news, cinema, sports, entertainment, technology and even memes etc.

Meta founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg launched the feature in India and over 150 countries. In a Facebook post, Mr Zuckerberg said, “Today we’re starting to roll out WhatsApp Channels globally and adding thousands of new channels that people can follow in WhatsApp.

How to access Channels

WhatsApp users have to ensure that they are using the updated version of the app. WhatsApp channels are available in the ‘Updates’ column next to chats on the app. The users then have to click on a (+) sign and then on ‘New Channel’. Click on ‘Get Started’ after which the application will give some prompts on the screen.

The move by the Meta-owned platform aims to rival Telegram, though WhatsApp has an edge due to more number of downloads and popularity. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have joined WhatsApp channels as well. 

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat. 

Features of WhatsApp channels

WhatsApp Channels offer users an enhanced directory based on their countries. They can also view channels that are new, most active and popular based on the number of followers.

The reaction feature has been extended to WhatsApp Channels as well. Users can react using emojis. However, they will not be shown to other followers..