{"id":95026,"date":"2017-11-07T10:13:16","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T10:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=95026"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:44:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:44:38","slug":"fake-whatsapp-downloaded-by-more-than-1000000-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/fake-whatsapp-downloaded-by-more-than-1000000-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake WhatsApp downloaded by more than 1 million users"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apps are always trying to sneak into the Google Play Store pretending to be WhatsApp. The messaging app\u2019s huge popularity makes it a prime target for hackers<\/strong> trying to infect unsuspecting user\u2019s mobiles. Normally, these fake WhatsApps get caught before too long, but today the news is a little more severe. One of these fake WhatsApps has been downloaded over a million times.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fake WhatsApp, called \u201cUpdate WhatsApp Messenger,\u201d had the same logo and screenshots as the normal WhatsApp in the Play Store<\/strong>. The only thing that set it apart from the real WhatsApp was the \u201cUpdate\u201d that was written before it and the space that came after the developer, \u201cWhatsApp Inc.\u201d A security expert might be able to highlight such small difference, but the average user probably wouldn\u2019t notice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The app went unnoticed by the Play Store for several weeks<\/strong> before finally being detected by experts on Reddit. Once the app was detected, Google quickly pulled it from the store, but not before it had been downloaded by a million users. The app left no trace on the user\u2019s phone,<\/strong> so they simply thought they\u2019d downloaded the regular WhatsApp.<\/p>\n

All of this enabled the hackers to introduce new ads<\/strong> into the user\u2019s experience and push them toward downloading other apps. In other words, a full-blown scam.<\/p>\n

If you want to check whether you or a member of your family has downloaded the fake WhatsApp by mistake, you need to go to Settings<\/strong> on your Android mobile; then click Applications. <\/strong>If you see more than one WhatsApp icon, you know you\u2019ve installed the fraudulent app and need to get rid of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter:\u00a0@PatrickDevaney_<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apps are always trying to sneak into the Google Play Store pretending to be WhatsApp. The messaging app\u2019s huge popularity makes it a prime target for hackers trying to infect unsuspecting user\u2019s mobiles. Normally, these fake WhatsApps get caught before too long, but today the news is a little more severe. One of these fake … Continue reading “Fake WhatsApp downloaded by more than 1 million users”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9073,"featured_media":95028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[],"tags":[2333],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-95026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-app-subdomain-redirectionwhatsapp"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t