WhatsApp is going through a rough patch. Some users would argue it has been ever since Meta acquired the once widely trusted messaging platform. User sentiment has shifted from “trusted default messenger” to a grudgingly necessary Meta product.

Privacy-aware users still see WhatsApp as one of the more secure mass-market messaging platforms if you lock down its settings. Even then, many remain uneasy about Meta’s broader ecosystem, and wish all their contacts would switch to a more secure platform.

Back to current affairs, which will only reinforce that sentiment.

Google’s Project Zero has just disclosed a WhatsApp vulnerability where a malicious media file, sent into a newly created group chat, can be automatically downloaded and used as an attack vector.

The bug affects WhatsApp on Android and involves zero‑click media downloads in group chats. You can be attacked simply by being added to a group and having a malicious file sent to you.

According to Project Zero, the attack is most likely to be used in targeted campaigns, since the attacker needs to know or guess at least one contact. While focused, it is relatively easy to repeat once an attacker has a likely target list.

And to put a cherry on top for WhatsApp’s competitors, a potentially even more serious concern for the popular messaging platform, an international group of plaintiffs sued Meta Platforms, alleging the WhatsApp owner can store, analyze, and access virtually all of users’ private communications, despite WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption claims.

How to secure WhatsApp

Reportedly, Meta pushed a server change on November 11, 2025, but Google says that only partially resolved the issue. So, Meta is working on a comprehensive fix.

Google’s advice is to disable Automatic Download or enable WhatsApp’s Advanced Privacy Mode so that media is not automatically downloaded to your phone.

And you’ll need to keep WhatsApp updated to get the latest patches, which is true for any app and for Android itself.

Turn off auto-download of media

Goal: ensure that no photos, videos, audio, or documents are pulled to the device without an explicit decision.

• Open WhatsApp on your Android device.
• Tap the three‑dot menu in the top‑right corner, then tap Settings.
• Go to Storage and data (sometimes labeled Data and storage usage).
• Under Media auto-download, you will see When using mobile data, when connected on Wi‑Fi. and when roaming.
• For each of these three entries, tap it and uncheck all media types: Photos, Audio, Videos, Documents. Then tap OK.
• Confirm that each category now shows something like “No media” under it.

Doing this directly implements Project Zero’s guidance to “disable Automatic Download” so that malicious media can’t silently land on your storage as soon as you are dropped into a hostile group.

Stop WhatsApp from saving media to your Android gallery

Even if WhatsApp still downloads some content, you can stop it from leaking into shared storage where other apps and system components see it.

• In Settings, go to Chats.
• Turn off Media visibility (or similar option such as Show media in gallery). For particularly sensitive chats, open the chat, tap the contact or group name, find Media visibility, and set it to No for that thread.

WhatsApp is a sandbox, and should contain the threat. Which means, keeping media inside WhatsApp makes it harder for a malicious file to be processed by other, possibly more vulnerable components.

Lock down who can add you to groups

The attack chain requires the attacker to add you and one of your contacts to a new group. Reducing who can do that lowers risk.

• ​In Settings, tap Privacy.
• Tap Groups.
• Change from Everyone to My contacts or ideally My contacts except… and exclude any numbers you do not fully trust.
• If you use WhatsApp for work, consider keeping group membership strictly to known contacts and approved admins.

Set up two-step verification on your WhatsApp account

Read this guide for Android and iOS to learn how to do that.

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TikTok may have found a way to stay online in the US. The company announced late last week that it has set up a joint venture backed largely by US investors. TikTok announced TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC on Friday in a deal valued at about $14 billion, allowing it to continue operating in the country.

This is the culmination of a long-running fight between TikTok and US authorities. In 2019, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) flagged ByteDance’s 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly as a national security risk, on the basis that state links between the app’s Chinese owner would make put US users’ data at risk.

In his first term, President Trump issued an executive order demanding that ByteDance sell the business or face a ban. That was order was blocked by courts, and President Biden later replaced it with a broader review process in 2021.

In April 2024, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), which Biden signed into law. That set a January 19, 2025 deadline for ByteDance to divest its business or face a nationwide ban. With no deal finalized, TikTok voluntarily went dark for about 12 hours on January 18, 2025. Trump later issued executive orders extending the deadline, culminating in a September 2025 agreement that led to the joint venture.

Three managing investors each hold 15% of the new business: database giant Oracle (which previously vied to acquire TikTok when ByteDance was first told to divest), technology-focused investment group Silver Lake, and the United Arab Emirates-backed AI (Artificial Intelligence) investment company MGX.

Other investors include the family office of tech entrepreneur Michael Dell, as well as Vastmere Strategic Investments, Alpha Wave Partners, Revolution, Merritt Way, and Via Nova.

Original owner ByteDance retains 19.9% of the business, and according to an internal memo released before the deal was officially announced, 30% of the company will be owned by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors. That’s in spite of the fact that PAFACA mandated a complete severance of TikTok in the US from its Chinese ownership.

A focus on security

The company is eager to promote data security for its users. With that in mind, Oracle takes the role of “trusted security partner” for data protection and compliance auditing under the deal.

Oracle is also expected to store US user data in its cloud environment. The program will reportedly align with security frameworks including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. Other TikTok-owned apps such as CapCut and Lemon8 will also fall under the joint venture’s security umbrella.

Canada’s TikTok tension

It’s been a busy month for ByteDance, with other developments north of the border. Last week, Canada’s Federal Court overturned a November 2024 governmental order to shut down TikTok’s Canadian business on national security grounds. The decision gives Industry Minister Mélanie Joly time to review the case.

Why this matters

TikTok’s new US joint venture lowers the risk of direct foreign access to American user data, but it doesn’t erase all of the concerns that put the app in regulators’ crosshairs in the first place. ByteDance still retains an economic stake, the recommendation algorithm remains largely opaque, and oversight depends on audits and enforcement rather than hard technical separation.

In other words, this deal reduces exposure, but it doesn’t make TikTok a risk-free platform. For users, that means the same common-sense rules still apply: be thoughtful about what you share and remember that regulatory approval isn’t the same as total data safety.

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