Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, has taken aim at popular messaging app, WhatsApp. He’s been telling people to delete the application, citing vulnerability concerns and privacy issues that can be found in the system.
The statement came just days after a security issue was discovered within the system in India. This allowed hackers to access people’s personal messages when they open a video file within the app. WhatsApp later urged users to update to the latest version to fix the issue.
In a lengthy post on his Telegram channel, the Russian has drawn attention to WhatsApp parent company Facebook, noting how the app is actually a “Trojan Horse” used to spy on their users.
In the post he wrote, “WhatsApp doesn’t only fail to protect your WhatsApp messages – this app is being consistently used as a Trojan horse to spy on your non-WhatsApp photos and messages. Why would they do it? Facebook has been part of surveillance programs long before it acquired WhatsApp.”
He also directed focus on the security side of things using the video file hacking issue in India as an example. While Facebook attempted to play down the situation, Durov argued that that this is not the first time the app has been exploited in such a manner.
He said that, “a security vulnerability of this magnitude is bound to have been exploited – just like the previous WhatsApp backdoor had been used against human rights activists and journalists naïve enough to be WhatsApp users.”
It should be noted that WhatsApp is a direct competitor to Telegram and this sort of public action might be fuelled by an incentive from its founder to push for their own agenda. But for now, users are advised to update their app to the latest versions and avoid opening messages and files from anonymous senders.
Source: RT.
