Google has officially confirmed the existence of a bug on the Android platform that caused WhatsApp for Android to display continuous microphone access. The bug affected a limited number of WhatsApp users and has now been addressed with a straightforward solution.
In a recent tweet posted by the Android Developers account, Google acknowledged the bug, describing it as an Android issue that resulted in inaccurate privacy indicators and notifications within the Android Privacy Dashboard for WhatsApp users.
The bug caused the impression that WhatsApp was constantly utilizing the microphone on Android devices, raising significant privacy concerns if it were accurate.
Over the last 24 hours we’ve been in touch with a Twitter engineer who posted an issue with his Pixel phone and WhatsApp.
We believe this is a bug on Android that mis-attributes information in their Privacy Dashboard and have asked Google to investigate and remediate. https://t.co/MnBi3qE6Gp
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) May 9, 2023
A recent Android bug affecting a limited number of WhatsApp users produced erroneous privacy indicators and notifications in the Android Privacy Dashboard.
Users can now update their WhatsApp app to address this issue.
We thank WhatsApp for their partnership and apologize…
— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) June 21, 2023
Initially, WhatsApp believed the bug to be a misattribution of information in the Privacy Dashboard caused by an Android issue, rather than an actual excess access to the microphone. The tweet requesting Google’s intervention and resolution gained substantial attention, highlighting the importance of safeguarding microphone privacy, particularly for companies like Meta.
Today, Google confirmed the bug and announced that the solution involves updating WhatsApp to the latest version. Google expressed gratitude to WhatsApp for their collaboration and extended apologies for any confusion caused by this bug.
Currently, specific technical details regarding the bug are scarce. The bug gained attention when a Pixel user, who had recently updated to Android 13 QPR3, experienced the issue. However, the changelog for this user-facing update does not mention the bug or its resolution. It is possible that the bug fix is included in the latest WhatsApp update or that the update includes additional measures to mitigate the issue.