WhatsApp messenger has been repeatedly criticized by security experts for its attitude to user data and the lack of encryption in the conversations.
Now, the study, conducted by the cybersecurity researcher Athul Jayaram, revealed a new vulnerability in the function of creating chat using an invitation QR code.
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It turned out that as a result of using this function, the contact number is leaked, and in some cases even the message text. URLs packed in redistributable QR codes are automatically indexed by search engines and pop up in search results.
The researcher was able to detect more than 300 thousand mobile numbers of users in the search results, and this number will certainly grow because WhatsApp is aware of what is happening and does not consider this a data leak.
The best way to avoid the leak is to delete the WhatsApp account and opt for a more secure solution. Recall that in the past few days, Telegram messenger has received a big update, which brought many useful features.
