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