WhatsApp may have exposed users' phone numbers on Google search: Report

The vulnerability is part of WhatsApp 'click to chat' feature where user can generate link to invite others.

Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp may have exposed its users’ phone number on Google search owing to a vulnerability in its ‘click to share’ feature. The mobile numbers of users are available on Google search in plain text format, according to an independent cybersecurity researcher Athul Jayaram.

“WhatsApp web portal has leaked around 29,000 – 3,00,000 WhatsApp user’s mobile numbers in plain text accessible to any internet user. What makes this finding easy or appears to be simple is that data is accessible on the open web and not on the dark web,” wrote Jayaram in his blogpost that was reported by Threatpost.

He added, “This privacy issue could have been avoided if Whatsapp encrypted the user mobile numbers as well as by adding a robots.txt file disallowing the bots from crawling their domain and a meta noindex tag on the pages. Unfortunately, they did not do that yet and your privacy may be at stake.”

Explaining the issue, Jayaram said that the vulnerability is part of WhatsApp ‘click to chat’ feature where user can generate link to invite others. According to Jayaram, WhatsApp does not encrypt the phone number in the link, as a result, if the link is shared anywhere, the phone number is also visible in plaintext.

For example, if a user shares a “click to chat” link on social media platform, it goes with the mobile number mentioned on it in. Anyone with access to the link might, therefore, be able to see the user’s phone number. Moreover, the URLs are accessed by Google Bots for search indexing. Therefore, the link appears in Google search results even if the original post has been removed from the source.

Microsoft Bing team launches covid-19 portal for global tracking of cases

An interactive map allows site visitors to click on the country to see the specific number of cases and related articles from a variety of publishers.

While Google is still working on a coronavirus screening and tracking website, Microsoft Bing team has already launched a web portal for tracking COVID-19 infections worldwide.

The website, accessible at bing.com/covid, provides up-to-date infection statistics for each country.

The COVID-19 Tracker currently lists 168,835 as total confirmed cases, 84,558 active cases, 77,761 recovered cases and 6,516 deaths.

There are at least 3,244 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in the US and at least 61 deaths.

"Lots of Bing folks worked (from home) this past week to create a mapping and authoritative news resource for COVID19 info," Michael Schechter, General Manager for Bing Growth and Distribution at Microsoft, was quoted as saying in a ZDNet report on Sunday.

An interactive map allows site visitors to click on the country to see the specific number of cases and related articles from a variety of publishers.

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Data is being aggregated from sources like the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Microsoft announced the website two days after US President Donald Trump said Google has begun working on COVID-19-related portal for US citizens.

Google makes it easier to review, delete search data: Here is how to use it

The feature is currently available for desktop and web platforms; it will be available in the Google app for iOS and Android in coming weeks, and in Google Maps from next year.

Search engine and technology giant Google has now made it easier for users to review and delete their search history. The company has rolled out an update for its Google Search platform that enables a new ‘Your data in Search’ option where a user can review and delete recent Search activity, get quick access to the most relevant privacy controls in Google Account, and learn more about how Search works with data. The update is currently available for desktop and web platforms; it will be available in the Google app for iOS and Android in the coming weeks, and in Google Maps from next year.

Google collects several data when you make a search using Google Search platform. This data includes the terms you search for, links you interact with and other information like your current location when you search. Until now, the information related to search history was available under Google Account. To review and delete search history and other data, users had to visit their Google account, but now it has been integrated within the search itself, making it easier to review and delete search history data.

ALSO READ: Google is teaching children to 'be internet awesome' when it's not being so

Google is also providing quick access to the privacy controls in Google Account that are most relevant. For example, to control the ads you see when you search, the company now gives access to manage Ad settings. Additionally, you can also access your Activity Controls to decide what information Google saves to your account and uses to optimise its products.

“We’re always working on making it easier for you to understand and control your data so you can make privacy choices that are right for you. Earlier this year, we launched a new Google Account experience that puts your privacy and security front and centre, and we updated our Privacy Policy with videos and clearer language to better describe the information we collect, why we collect it, and how you can control it. Today, we’re making it easier for you to make decisions about your data directly within the Google products you use every day, starting with Search,” said Google in a statement.


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