As WhatsApp faces intense criticism worldwide over its upcoming data and privacy policy, another user data violation has been reported, this time on the WhatsApp on Desktop (Web version) application, allegedly exposing personal mobile numbers via indexing on Google Search.
Independent cybersecurity researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia on Friday shared some screenshots with showing indexing of personal mobile numbers of WhatsApp users via Web version on Google Search.
"The leak is happening via WhatsApp on Web. If someone is using WhatsApp on laptop or on an office PC, the mobile numbers are being indexed on Google Search. These are mobile numbers of individual users not business numbers," Rajaharia told .
Earlier this week, concerned at private group chat links being available on Google Search, WhatsApp said that it had asked Google not to index such chats and advised users not to share group chat links on publicly accessible websites.
Google had indexed invite links to private WhatsApp group chats, meaning anyone can join various private chat groups with a simple search. The indexed WhatsApp group chat links have now been removed from Google.
"Despite WhatsApp advising users and telling Google to remove the earlier exposed group chat links, the mobile numbers via WhatsApp Web application are now being indexed on Google Search," Rajaharia noted.
WhatsApp has deferred its new data privacy policy by three months and no one will lose his or her account from February 8 for not accepting the updated terms of service, the Facebook-owned platform said on Saturday.