With WhatsApp update, you can regain deleted files

Concerns have been raised about the new update of WhatsApp,
which allows users to access videos and images they have
deleted.

It is believed the update clearly shows that the app stores
users’ personal information for longer than it says it does.

The update, which is now available to Android users worldwide,
enables users to recover pictures, videos, GIFs, documents or voice
notes that were sent and subsequently deleted.

Tech website, WaBetaInfo said it was able to download images
which had been deleted two or even three months ago. Normally
Whatsapp stores images received for 30 days, so they can be
downloaded. It then deletes the images after this time.

However, WaBetaInfo said it was able to download images up to
three months after they should have been deleted. It wrote:
“WhatsApp allows to download deleted media from their servers
again. This automatically translates in the fact that WhatsApp
continues to store our media on their servers also after
downloading them. This feature was partially available before:
non-downloaded media were available for 30 days and, when the
recipient downloaded the media, WhatsApp immediately deleted it
from the server.”

WhatsApp’s parent company, Facebook has been under intense
scrutiny in recent weeks as it was revealed 87 million of its users
had their personal information harvested and used by the political
consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook has issued a series of apologies for the privacy breach
and incorporated drastic changes to its privacy policies to stem
the flow of thousands of users leaving the platform.

Concerns have been raised about the new update of WhatsApp,
which allows users to access videos and images they have
deleted.

It is believed the update clearly shows that the app stores
users’ personal information for longer than it says it does.

The update, which is now available to Android users worldwide,
enables users to recover pictures, videos, GIFs, documents or voice
notes that were sent and subsequently deleted.

Tech website, WaBetaInfo said it was able to download images
which had been deleted two or even three months ago. Normally
Whatsapp stores images received for 30 days, so they can be
downloaded. It then deletes the images after this time.

However, WaBetaInfo said it was able to download images up to
three months after they should have been deleted. It wrote:
“WhatsApp allows to download deleted media from their servers
again. This automatically translates in the fact that WhatsApp
continues to store our media on their servers also after
downloading them. This feature was partially available before:
non-downloaded media were available for 30 days and, when the
recipient downloaded the media, WhatsApp immediately deleted it
from the server.”

WhatsApp’s parent company, Facebook has been under intense
scrutiny in recent weeks as it was revealed 87 million of its users
had their personal information harvested and used by the political
consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook has issued a series of apologies for the privacy breach
and incorporated drastic changes to its privacy policies to stem
the flow of thousands of users leaving the platform.