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WhatsApp-hack

Just when you thought you were safe using WhatsApp, researchers find another alarming scam within the app.

This new hack can be triggered by simply just sending an animated GIF (looping animation) within the chat App.

Hackers have found a way to leverage these looping animations to take control of your smartphone and read all of your text messages.

This hack is worrisome because of how easy it is to get infected, you don’t have to even click to open a GIF within the app, it just plays automatically in preview.

The malicious code is loaded when you preview the image.

Android 8.1 Oreo and Android 9.0 Pie are more likely to be affected by the scam.

If you have an Android and use WhatsApp, you will want to protect yourself and thankfully, there are some simple steps you can take to keep yourself safe from this scam.

Whatsapp hack

Update Your Android and WhatsApp:

This GIF attack only works on the older versions of Android and WhatsApp.

The newer updates that Android have implemented help protect you against these sort of bugs and attacks.

Android 10 includes lots of great new features including better controls around privacy and location data.

When you upgrade to Android 10 and versions after that, you will be required to also update to the newer version of WhatsApp.

So protecting yourself is as simple as keeping your Android and Apps updated.