WhatsApp Pussy Cat? Cybertraps Live 72

Last updated on October 29, 2024

WhatsApp Pussy Cat? Today Fred and Jethro talk all about WhatsApp, the background, how it’s used, and what to look out for.

• What Is It?
  • WhatsApp Messenger
• Who Built It?
  • Brian Acton and Jan Koum, former Yahoo! employees, wrote the first version in 2009
  • Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion
• Who Is Using It?
  • Lots and lots of people … Roughly 2 billion monthly users worldwide
  • WhatsApp has users in 109 countries
• How Are People Using It?
  • Group chats (up to 256 people)
  • Broadcast feature (message to multiple people, reply just to sender)
  • Video Calls (w/ filters)
  • Text Messages
  • Share Videos, Photos, and Audio Messages
• What Are the Risks Parents Should Consider?
  • No real enforcement of 16+ age rating
  • Potential contact from strangers (no verification of user identity)
  • Multiplatform service (kids can move from device to device)
  • Multiple tools to “hack” WhatsApp
  • Disappearing Messages (Status Feature)
  • Cyberbullying (particularly in group chats)
  • Grooming
  • Live Location
  • Access to Inappropriate Content – It only takes a few seconds to find links to public WhatsApp groups with
  • Hoaxes and Misinformation
    • Some limits on forwarding messages to groups
  • Malware (particularly on PCs and Macs)
  • Sharing of data between WhatsApp and Facebook
  • Multiple security breaches and software flaws
• Anecdotes and Headlines
  • 2021–08–15 Did America just lose Afghanistan because of WhatsApp?
    https://prestonbyrne.com/2021/08/15/did-america-just-lose-afghanistan-because-of-whatsapp/
  • 2021–08–07 WhatsApp CEO calls out Apple over Child Safety tools announcement
    https://9to5mac.com/2021/08/07/whatsapp-ceo-calls-out-apple-over-child-safety-tools-announcement/
  • 2021–08–04 Warning issued to anybody who uses WhatsApp as loophole could see strangers access your messages
    https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/uk-news/whatsapp-urgent-warning-loophole-hackers–21220126
  • 2021–07–19 Biology teacher, 57, at £40,000-a-year boarding school is struck off after sending naked shower ‘selfie’ to an 18-year-old schoolgirl he told ‘aroused him’ over explicit WhatsApp texts
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article–9803385/Biology-teacher–57-struck-sending-naked-shower-selfie–18-year-old-schoolgirl.html
  • 2020–10–24 ‘She’s no longer hurting or afraid’: Devastated family say final farewell to girl, 12, who killed herself after being hounded with abuse on school laptop during lockdown by bullies who labelled her ‘lesbian emo freak’
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article–8874807/Northumberland-suicide-Loved-ones-say-goodbyes-cheeky–12-year-old-schoolgirl.html
  • 2018–12–20 WhatsApp has an encrypted child porn problem
    https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/20/whatsapp-pornography/
  • 2018–09–26 The problem with ‘dark social’
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/09/26/whatsapp/
  • 2018–07–19 WhatsApp introduces new limits on message forwarding in an effort to stop deadly lynchings in India
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article–5971935/India-issues-fresh-warning-WhatsApp-lynching-deaths.html
  • 2015–06–15 Sexting, webcams and naked Whatsapp contests: The secret online lives of children
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11674931/Sexting-webcams-and-revenge-porn-Secret-online-lives-of-our-children.html
• Resources
  • 2021–06–24 Is WhatsApp Safe? 5 Scams, Threats, and Security Risks to Know About
    https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-security-threats-whatsapp-users-need-know/
  • 2021–05–10 15 phone apps parents should be aware of: Are any of these on your child’s phone?
    https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2021/05/10/pender-sheriffs-office-warns-parents-dangerous-phone-apps/4871525001/
  • 2020–11–16 Three most dangerous WhatsApp settings that could get you hacked, scammed or exposed
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/13211541/dangerous-whatsapp-settings-hacking/
  • 2020–03–07 Is WhatsApp Safe for Kids? Here’s What Parents Need to Know
    https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/consumer/family-safety/is-whatsapp-safe-for-kids-heres-what-parents-need-to-know/
  • n.d. WhatsApp
    https://www.net-aware.org.uk/networks/whatsapp/
  • n.d. WhatsApp: a guide for parents and carers
    https://parentinfo.org/article/whatsapp-a-guide-for-parents-and-carers
  • n.d. WhatsApp Messenger Common Sense Media
    https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/whatsapp-messenger

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