WhatsApp, an instant messaging app, is widely popular in India. The free app allows messaging and calls and is used by over two billion people across 180 countries. While Google’s Play Store is considered safe for downloading the app’s official Android version, there is a reason to worry if you downloaded the app recently. As early as September, a clone of the app, with the same name and app icon as the genuine version, has been live on the app market and has crossed over five lakh downloads.
According to an Android Authority report, this fake WhatsApp app listing came to light after the recent counterfeit Google Chrome app, which garnered over one lakh subscribers before it was taken down. Spotted by Reddit user “2ne1cheese”, the duplicate WhatsApp app has a download size of 42MB and is reportedly boosted by the developer to dupe more people into downloading it. In the screengrab shared by the user, the app appears as a “Sponsored” suggestion.
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Unlike the genuine WhatsApp app, which is listed with the developer: WhatsApp LLC, the clone is published by the developer “Agment Assets sallu”. The fake listing’s description text has copied text from WhatsApp’s official Play Store description. However, the spacing and certain sentences have been edited. Some sub-heads, paragraphs and links to “terms of service” and “learn more” is missing in the counterfeit listing.
Not just that, the app screenshots and other advertisements have been copied (the same images appear twice in the imitation). Android Authority claims the app was published in September and may be misusing Google Play’s Early Access to restrain user reviews. However, Android users should note that the fake app listing did not appear in the top results when we searched “WhatsApp Messenger” in the Google Play Store.
According to the listing, the app is in development. Within the “Data safety” section, the developer claims the app does not share data with third parties and does not collect data. However, readers are advised to download only the official version of Meta’s messaging app listed by the developer “WhatsApp LLC”, which gives you assurance of using the official WhatsApp Messenger app. In case you have WhatsApp installed of any other developer, uninstall it immediately.