It's easy to follow WhatsApp usage and sleep patterns of WhatsApp users. For example, information that can be sold to health insurers and credit agencies, says software engineer Robert Heaton . Using only the WhatsApp user's phone number, it is possible to read his status, as if he is online and when he was last seen.
It is not necessary to be friends with the WhatsApp user. Only a phone number is sufficient. Heaton wrote a simple script that requests information every 10 seconds at WhatsApp. Then he processed the data in a graph, making it clear that the sleep pattern of the WhatsApp user he wanted to follow became clear. Users can set to see their "last seen" status show. By default, however, this status is visible to everyone. Additionally, users can not hide their "online" status.
According to Heaton, it is so easy to make graphs of both theirs and strangers using their WhatsApp use and sleep patterns. Information that can be sold to health insurers and credit agencies that are interested in "deviant behavior", for example, let the engineer know. Other scenarios are outlined at Hacker News , which allows the status information to communicate which friends communicate in a contact list via the status information. For example, it may be outdated whether people are cheating or having an affair.
No comments:
Post a Comment