<s>
This	O
article	O
provides	O
a	O
detailed	O
chronological	O
account	O
of	O
the	O
historical	O
reception	O
and	O
criticism	O
of	O
security	O
and	O
privacy	O
features	O
in	O
the	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
messaging	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
20	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
an	O
unidentified	O
security	O
researcher	O
from	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
under	O
the	O
pseudonym	O
"	O
WhatsappHack	O
"	O
published	O
a	O
method	O
to	O
hijack	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
accounts	O
using	O
a	O
flaw	O
in	O
the	O
authentication	O
process	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
Dutch	O
websites	O
Tweakers.net	O
and	O
GeenStijl	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
WhatsappHack	O
"	O
provided	O
methods	O
to	O
accomplish	O
this	O
on	O
both	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
and	O
Android	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
day	O
after	O
the	O
publication	O
of	O
the	O
articles	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
issued	O
a	O
patch	O
to	O
both	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2011	O
,	O
another	O
security	O
hole	O
was	O
reported	O
which	O
left	O
communication	O
through	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
susceptible	O
to	O
packet	B-Protocol
analysis	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
communications	O
data	O
was	O
sent	O
and	O
received	O
in	O
plaintext	O
,	O
meaning	O
messages	O
could	O
easily	O
be	O
read	O
if	O
packet	O
traces	O
were	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2012	O
security	O
researchers	O
noticed	O
that	O
new	O
updates	O
of	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
sent	O
messages	O
with	O
encryption	O
,	O
but	O
described	O
the	O
cryptographic	O
method	O
used	O
as	O
"	O
broken.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
the	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
support	O
staff	O
stated	O
that	O
messages	O
sent	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
latest	O
version	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
software	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
(	O
but	O
not	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
)	O
were	O
encrypted	O
,	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
specify	O
the	O
cryptographic	O
method	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
6	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
an	O
unknown	O
hacker	O
published	O
a	O
website	O
that	O
made	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
status	O
of	O
any	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
user	O
,	O
so	O
long	O
as	O
the	O
phone	O
number	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
account	O
was	O
known	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
9	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
reported	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
resolved	O
the	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
reality	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
's	O
solution	O
had	O
been	O
to	O
block	O
the	O
website	O
's	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
had	O
allowed	O
a	O
Windows	O
tool	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
that	O
could	O
accomplish	O
the	O
same	O
thing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
problem	O
has	O
since	O
been	O
resolved	O
by	O
the	O
institution	O
of	O
an	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
check	O
on	O
currently	O
logged-in	O
sessions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
14	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Heise	O
Security	O
demonstrated	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
WhatsAPI	O
to	O
hijack	O
any	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
afterward	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
threatened	O
to	O
initiate	O
legal	O
action	O
against	O
the	O
developers	O
of	O
WhatsAPI	O
,	O
an	O
opensource	B-License
project	O
,	O
and	O
WhatsAPI	O
temporarily	O
took	O
down	O
their	O
source	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
did	O
not	O
address	O
the	O
underlying	O
security	O
failure	O
and	O
Heise	O
Security	O
claimed	O
they	O
had	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
successfully	O
repeat	O
the	O
hacking	O
of	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
accounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
31	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
the	O
Saudi	O
Arabia	O
Communications	O
and	O
Information	O
Technology	O
Commission	O
(	O
CITC	O
)	O
issued	O
a	O
statement	O
that	O
mentioned	O
possible	O
measures	O
against	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
among	O
other	O
applications	O
,	O
unless	O
the	O
service	O
providers	O
took	O
serious	O
steps	O
to	O
comply	O
with	O
monitoring	O
and	O
privacy	O
regulations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
Schleswig-Holstein	O
advised	O
against	O
using	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
as	O
the	O
service	O
lacked	O
privacy	O
protection	O
such	O
as	O
end-to-end	O
client-side	O
encryption	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2014	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
began	O
its	O
implementation	O
of	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
,	O
which	O
it	O
finished	O
in	O
April	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
joint	O
Canadian-Dutch	O
government	O
investigation	O
was	O
launched	O
into	O
several	O
concerns	O
over	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
's	O
compliance	O
with	O
security	O
regulations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
concern	O
of	O
the	O
investigators	O
was	O
that	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
required	O
users	O
to	O
upload	O
their	O
mobile	O
phone	O
's	O
entire	O
address	O
book	O
,	O
including	O
contact	O
information	O
for	O
contacts	O
who	O
were	O
not	O
using	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
to	O
be	O
mirrored	O
on	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
's	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
stored	O
these	O
phone	O
numbers	O
in	O
hash	B-Algorithm
,	O
the	O
data	O
was	O
not	O
salted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2015	O
,	O
the	O
Dutch	O
government	O
released	O
a	O
press	O
statement	O
claiming	O
that	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
had	O
changed	O
its	O
hashing	O
method	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
much	O
harder	O
to	O
reverse	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
subsequently	O
complied	O
with	O
all	O
rules	O
and	O
regulations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
1	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Indrajeet	O
Bhuyan	O
and	O
Saurav	O
Kar	O
demonstrated	O
the	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
Message	O
Handler	O
vulnerability	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
anyone	O
to	O
remotely	O
crash	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
just	O
by	O
sending	O
a	O
specially	O
crafted	O
2kilobyte	O
message	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user	O
who	O
receives	O
the	O
message	O
must	O
delete	O
the	O
whole	O
conversation	O
to	O
avoid	O
crashing	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
upon	O
opening	O
the	O
conversation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2015	O
,	O
after	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
launched	O
a	O
web	O
client	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
from	O
the	O
browser	O
,	O
Bhuyan	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
client	O
had	O
two	O
new	O
security	O
issues	O
:	O
the	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
photo	O
privacy	O
bug	O
and	O
the	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
web	I-Application
photo	O
sync	O
bug	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
2	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
introduced	O
a	O
document-sharing	O
feature	O
,	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
share	O
PDF	B-Application
files	I-Application
with	O
contacts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
received	O
criticism	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
about	O
the	O
default	O
setting	O
to	O
automatically	O
download	O
attachments	O
,	O
which	O
raised	O
concerns	O
about	O
the	O
downloading	O
of	O
malware	O
and	O
malicious	O
files	O
once	O
the	O
feature	O
expands	O
to	O
include	O
more	O
than	O
just	O
PDFs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2016	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
will	O
start	O
sharing	O
account	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
phone	O
number	O
of	O
the	O
account	O
owner	O
and	O
aggregated	O
analytical	O
data	O
,	O
with	O
Facebook	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
claims	O
that	O
the	O
address	O
books	O
,	O
message	O
content	O
,	O
and	O
metadata	O
of	O
users	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
shared	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
this	O
account	O
information	O
is	O
shared	O
to	O
"	O
track	O
basic	O
metrics	O
about	O
how	O
often	O
people	O
use	O
our	O
services	O
and	O
better	O
fight	O
spam	O
on	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
by	O
connecting	O
your	O
phone	O
number	O
with	O
Facebook	B-Application
's	O
systems	O
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
can	O
offer	O
better	O
friend	O
suggestions	O
and	O
show	O
you	O
more	O
relevant	O
ads	O
if	O
you	O
have	O
an	O
account	O
with	O
them.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
further	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
User	O
data	O
will	O
not	O
be	O
shared	O
with	O
advertisers	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
only	O
used	O
internally	O
on	O
the	B-Application
Facebook	I-Application
services	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
users	O
would	O
be	O
given	O
the	O
choice	O
to	O
opt-out	O
of	O
sharing	O
this	O
data	O
with	O
Facebook	B-Application
for	O
advertisement	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
Curve25519	O
for	O
key	O
exchange	O
,	O
HKDF	B-Algorithm
for	O
generation	O
of	O
session	O
keys	O
(	O
AES-256	B-Algorithm
in	O
CBC	O
mode	O
for	O
encryption	O
and	O
HMAC-SHA256	B-Algorithm
for	O
integrity	O
verification	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
SHA512	B-Algorithm
for	O
generating	O
the	O
two	O
30	O
digit	O
fingerprints	O
of	O
both	O
users	O
 '	O
identity	O
keys	O
so	O
that	O
users	O
can	O
verify	O
encryption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2016	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
received	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
6	O
out	O
of	O
7	O
points	O
on	O
the	O
Electronic	O
Frontier	O
Foundation	O
's	O
"	O
Secure	O
Messaging	O
Scorecard	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
15	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
a	O
research	O
team	O
from	O
Ruhr	O
University	O
Bochum	O
published	O
a	O
security	O
analysis	O
of	O
group	O
messaging	O
protocols	O
in	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
and	O
other	O
messaging	O
services	O
,	O
that	O
found	O
a	O
privacy	O
concern	O
in	O
that	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
's	O
servers	O
effectively	O
control	O
the	O
membership	O
in	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
German	O
software	O
company	O
Open-Xchange	B-Protocol
criticized	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
among	O
others	O
,	O
for	O
using	O
proprietary	O
software	O
and	O
stated	O
plans	O
to	O
create	O
an	O
open-source	B-License
alternative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
13	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
The	O
Guardian	O
reported	O
that	O
security	O
researcher	O
Tobias	O
Boelter	O
had	O
found	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
's	O
policy	O
of	O
forcing	O
re-encryption	O
of	O
initially	O
undelivered	O
messages	O
,	O
without	O
informing	O
the	O
recipient	O
,	O
to	O
constitute	O
a	O
loophole	O
whereby	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
could	O
disclose	O
the	O
content	O
of	O
these	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
and	O
Open	O
Whisper	O
Systems	O
officials	O
disagreed	O
with	O
this	O
assessment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2017	O
,	O
The	O
Guardian	O
readers’	O
editor	O
Paul	O
Chadwick	O
wrote	O
that	O
"	O
The	O
Guardian	O
was	O
wrong	O
to	O
report	O
in	O
January	O
that	O
the	O
popular	O
messaging	O
service	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
had	O
a	O
security	O
flaw	O
so	O
serious	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
huge	O
threat	O
to	O
freedom	O
of	O
speech.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Chadwick	O
also	O
noted	O
that	O
since	O
the	O
Guardian	O
article	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
has	O
been	O
"	O
better	O
secured	O
by	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
optional	O
two-factor	O
verification	O
in	O
February.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2019	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
revealed	O
that	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
security	O
vulnerability	O
in	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
allowing	O
a	O
remote	O
person	O
to	O
install	O
a	O
spyware	O
just	O
by	O
making	O
a	O
call	O
which	O
does	O
not	O
even	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
answered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2019	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
take	O
legal	O
action	O
against	O
users	O
who	O
send	O
disproportionately	O
high	O
number	O
of	O
messages	O
using	O
their	O
communication	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
notification	O
on	O
their	O
website	O
the	O
company	O
stated	O
"	O
Beginning	O
on	O
December	O
7	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
will	O
take	O
legal	O
action	O
against	O
those	O
we	O
determine	O
are	O
engaged	O
in	O
or	O
assisting	O
others	O
in	O
abuse	O
that	O
violates	O
our	O
terms	O
of	O
service	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
automated	O
or	O
bulk	O
messaging	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2019	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
was	O
criticized	O
for	O
its	O
implementation	O
of	O
a	O
'	O
delete	O
for	O
everyone	O
 '	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
iOS	B-Application
users	O
can	O
elect	O
to	O
save	O
media	O
to	O
their	O
camera	O
roll	O
automatically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
user	O
deletes	O
media	O
for	O
everyone	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
does	O
not	O
delete	O
images	O
saved	O
in	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
camera	O
roll	O
and	O
so	O
those	O
users	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
keep	O
the	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
released	O
a	O
statement	O
saying	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
feature	O
is	O
working	O
properly	O
,	O
"	O
and	O
that	O
images	O
stored	O
in	O
the	O
camera	O
roll	O
cannot	O
be	O
deleted	O
due	O
to	O
Apple	O
's	O
security	O
layers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2019	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
released	O
a	O
new	O
privacy	O
feature	O
that	O
let	O
users	O
decide	O
who	O
adds	O
them	O
to	O
the	O
group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2019	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
confirmed	O
a	O
security	O
flaw	O
that	O
would	O
allow	O
hackers	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
malicious	O
GIF	O
image	O
file	O
to	O
gain	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
recipient	O
's	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
recipient	O
opened	O
the	O
gallery	O
within	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
even	O
if	O
not	O
sending	O
the	O
malicious	O
image	O
,	O
the	O
hack	O
is	O
triggered	O
and	O
the	O
device	O
and	O
its	O
contents	O
become	O
vulnerable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
flaw	O
was	O
patched	O
and	O
users	O
were	O
encouraged	O
to	O
update	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
17	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
fixed	O
a	O
security	O
flaw	O
that	O
allowed	O
cyber	O
attackers	O
to	O
repeatedly	O
crash	O
the	O
messaging	O
application	O
for	O
all	O
members	O
of	O
group	O
chat	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
only	O
be	O
fixed	O
by	O
forcing	O
the	O
complete	O
uninstall	O
and	O
reinstall	O
of	O
the	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bug	O
was	O
discovered	O
by	O
Check	O
Point	O
in	O
August	O
2019	O
and	O
reported	O
to	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
sued	O
the	O
NSO	O
Group	O
for	O
allegedly	O
using	O
the	O
spyware	O
it	O
produces	O
to	O
hack	O
at	O
least	O
1,400	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
research	O
by	O
Citizen	O
Lab	O
countries	O
which	O
may	O
have	O
used	O
the	O
software	O
to	O
hack	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
include	O
,	O
Saudi	O
Arabia	O
,	O
Bahrain	O
,	O
Kazakhstan	O
,	O
Morocco	O
,	O
Mexico	O
and	O
the	O
United	O
Arab	O
Emirates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
16	O
December	O
2020	O
,	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
anti-trust	O
case	O
against	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
a	O
complaint	O
was	O
made	O
that	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
gave	O
Google	B-Application
access	O
to	O
private	O
messages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
complaint	O
was	O
heavily	O
redacted	O
due	O
to	O
being	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
ongoing	O
case	O
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
it	O
cannot	O
be	O
determined	O
if	O
the	O
claim	O
alleges	O
tampering	O
with	O
the	O
app	O
's	O
end-to-end	O
encryption	O
,	O
or	O
Google	B-Application
accessing	O
user	O
backups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2021	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
announced	O
an	O
update	O
to	O
its	O
Privacy	O
Policy	O
which	O
states	O
that	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
would	O
collect	O
the	O
metadata	O
of	O
users	O
and	O
share	O
it	O
with	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
its	O
"	O
family	O
of	O
companies	O
"	O
starting	O
in	O
February	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
policy	O
will	O
not	O
allow	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
to	O
see	O
or	O
send	O
messages	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
still	O
end-to-end	O
encrypted	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
will	O
allow	O
Facebook	B-Application
to	O
see	O
data	O
such	O
as	O
what	O
phone	O
and	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
a	O
user	O
has	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
time	B-Device
zone	I-Device
,	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
profile	O
picture	O
,	O
status	O
,	O
phone	O
number	O
,	O
app	O
usage	O
,	O
and	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
contacts	O
which	O
are	O
stored	O
in	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
move	O
has	O
drawn	O
intense	O
criticism	O
for	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
with	O
critics	O
claiming	O
that	O
it	O
erodes	O
the	O
users	O
 '	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facing	O
pushback	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
clarity	O
about	O
Facebook	B-Application
data	O
sharing	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
postponed	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
updated	O
privacy	O
policy	O
from	O
February	O
8	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
to	O
May	O
15	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
but	O
announced	O
they	O
have	O
no	O
plans	O
to	O
limit	O
the	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
app	O
for	O
those	O
who	O
do	O
n't	O
approve	O
the	O
new	O
terms	O
or	O
to	O
give	O
them	O
persistent	O
reminders	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2021	O
,	O
ProPublica	O
published	O
an	O
extensive	O
investigation	O
into	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
's	O
use	O
of	O
outside	O
contractors	O
and	O
artificial	O
intelligence	O
systems	O
to	O
examine	O
user	O
communication	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
collaboration	O
with	O
law	O
enforcement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internal	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
company	O
documents	O
revealed	O
Facebook	B-Application
's	O
considerable	O
efforts	O
to	O
brand	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
as	O
"	O
a	O
paragon	O
of	O
privacy	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
employs	O
around	O
1000	O
contractors	O
in	O
their	O
20s	O
and	O
30s	O
,	O
via	O
Accenture	O
,	O
at	O
offices	O
in	O
Austin	O
,	O
Texas	O
,	O
Dublin	O
and	O
Singapore	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
job	O
is	O
to	O
review	O
content	O
reported	O
by	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
users	O
,	O
and	O
pay	O
starts	O
at	O
$16.50	O
/hour	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
also	O
uses	O
artificial	O
intelligence	O
systems	O
to	O
scan	O
unencrypted	O
data	O
collected	O
from	O
users	O
(	O
profile	O
image	O
and	O
status	O
;	O
phone	O
number	O
,	O
IMEI	O
and	O
OS	O
;	O
names	O
and	O
images	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
groups	O
;	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
electronic	O
devices	O
;	O
any	O
Facebook	B-Application
or	O
Instgram	O
accounts	O
)	O
and	O
compares	O
it	O
against	O
suspicious	O
patterns	O
or	O
terms	O
and	O
images	O
previously	O
deemed	O
abusive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
shares	O
message	O
metadata	O
with	O
law	O
enforcement	O
agencies	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Department	O
of	O
Justice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
legally	O
required	O
,	O
or	O
at	O
its	O
own	O
discretion	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
for	O
investigating	O
Facebook	B-Application
leaks	O
)	O
,	O
it	O
can	O
provide	O
critical	O
location	O
or	O
account	O
information	O
,	O
or	O
real-time	O
data	O
on	O
the	O
recipients	O
messaged	O
a	O
target	O
subject	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhatsApp	B-Application
message	O
metadata	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
to	O
help	O
jail	O
people	O
such	O
as	O
whistleblower	O
Natalie	O
Edwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
,	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
reported	O
400,000	O
instances	O
of	O
possible	O
child-exploitation	O
imagery	O
to	O
the	O
National	O
Center	O
for	O
Missing	O
&	O
Exploited	O
Children	O
.	O
</s>
