Meanwhile, WhatsApp has still not acknowledged the serious flaw I reported on last week, despite being made aware of the core issue in December.

The lack of backup encryption-which is reportedly being fixed-is a major feature gap for WhatsApp, as is the lack of multi-device options, also reportedly being addressed. Meanwhile, there are legal challenges for WhatsApp and its parent Facebook to contend with. This prompted the backlash in January, and we will no doubt see more of the same next month, when account restrictions become real. Next month, its new terms of service kick in, enabling Facebook to increase its monetization of the platform. Viral memes and shared Facebook videos should be left in WhatsApp.Īs I’ve commented before, WhatsApp is at something of a pivot point. These media files can hide malicious code. There is a real issue with photos and videos from social media sites and the broader internet being shared on messaging platforms and then saved to phones.

We are talking about personal photos and videos, taken by you or someone you know, where you can vouch for their legitimacy. That isn’t end-to-end encrypted, but if you have photos and videos which need that level of security, you can install a photo vault to hide them on your device. Here the media can be properly stored and backed up. Putting this particular issue to one side, many users have suffered from a corrupted backup and a crashed app, which can result in the same outcome.Īnd so, those photos and videos that you want to keep should be saved to your phone’s photo album for safekeeping. But it is a warning that a WhatsApp backup is not the place to save special or important videos and photos. WhatsApp was approached on this story but didn’t comment. This specific issue may be addressed, and we have no data on the number of impacted users. This advice isn’t to delete all your photos and videos in WhatsApp.

Whatsapp scams photos