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WhatsApp Messages May Expose User’s Precise Location
(MENAFN) WhatsApp messages could potentially expose a user’s precise location even if they never deliberately share it, according to digital forensics investigator Elorm Daniel.
On Tuesday, Daniel posted on US social media company X that a routine WhatsApp message he received on Sept. 3 revealed the sender’s exact coordinates during a subsequent forensic review.
"Imagine receiving a normal WhatsApp message from someone… and later discovering that the message secretly contained their exact location, even though they never shared it," Daniel said.
He explained that neither party intentionally shared location information, yet the message’s metadata reportedly contained the sender’s precise location.
“He didn’t share it intentionally. I didn’t request it. The device recorded it automatically,” the post added.
Daniel further claimed that if a smartphone is subjected to forensic imaging, a third party could retrieve the sender’s location from the recipient’s device, provided that location services were active at the time.
"If your location is turned ON while chatting on WhatsApp, your exact location can be extracted from someone else’s device if theirs undergoes forensic imaging," he said.
Additional Data Exposed
According to Daniel, forensic extraction also uncovered more device-stored information. He reported that synchronized accounts, passwords, app usage histories, and detailed internal logs were accessible without jailbreaking the device or using other software manipulation.
His claim also suggested that WhatsApp data, such as group creation dates, creators, and membership histories, remained retrievable even long after he had left those groups.
Media files stored on the phone were reportedly embedded with detailed metadata. Daniel said photos, videos, screenshots, and voice recordings included exact GPS coordinates indicating when and where each file was created.
When asked for comment amid rising global attention after location data for users of X surfaced, a WhatsApp Support Team redirected inquiries to its AI-powered support service.
A response from WhatsApp’s AI-assisted support system stated: "WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption ensures that messages, including location data, are encrypted and can only be accessed by the sender and the intended recipient. However, in the context of a forensic case, it's possible that device-level metadata, such as location data, may be extracted from a device or backup through forensic analysis."
The service emphasized that the issue lies with the device itself rather than WhatsApp. It noted that in such cases, the platform’s encryption does not prevent metadata extraction, and this type of information is not protected in the same way as message content.
On Tuesday, Daniel posted on US social media company X that a routine WhatsApp message he received on Sept. 3 revealed the sender’s exact coordinates during a subsequent forensic review.
"Imagine receiving a normal WhatsApp message from someone… and later discovering that the message secretly contained their exact location, even though they never shared it," Daniel said.
He explained that neither party intentionally shared location information, yet the message’s metadata reportedly contained the sender’s precise location.
“He didn’t share it intentionally. I didn’t request it. The device recorded it automatically,” the post added.
Daniel further claimed that if a smartphone is subjected to forensic imaging, a third party could retrieve the sender’s location from the recipient’s device, provided that location services were active at the time.
"If your location is turned ON while chatting on WhatsApp, your exact location can be extracted from someone else’s device if theirs undergoes forensic imaging," he said.
Additional Data Exposed
According to Daniel, forensic extraction also uncovered more device-stored information. He reported that synchronized accounts, passwords, app usage histories, and detailed internal logs were accessible without jailbreaking the device or using other software manipulation.
His claim also suggested that WhatsApp data, such as group creation dates, creators, and membership histories, remained retrievable even long after he had left those groups.
Media files stored on the phone were reportedly embedded with detailed metadata. Daniel said photos, videos, screenshots, and voice recordings included exact GPS coordinates indicating when and where each file was created.
When asked for comment amid rising global attention after location data for users of X surfaced, a WhatsApp Support Team redirected inquiries to its AI-powered support service.
A response from WhatsApp’s AI-assisted support system stated: "WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption ensures that messages, including location data, are encrypted and can only be accessed by the sender and the intended recipient. However, in the context of a forensic case, it's possible that device-level metadata, such as location data, may be extracted from a device or backup through forensic analysis."
The service emphasized that the issue lies with the device itself rather than WhatsApp. It noted that in such cases, the platform’s encryption does not prevent metadata extraction, and this type of information is not protected in the same way as message content.
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