Sunday, February 9, 2025
HomeInternetWhatsApp Privacy Flaw - Delete for Everyone Feature Fails to Delete Media...

WhatsApp Privacy Flaw – Delete for Everyone Feature Fails to Delete Media from iPhone

Published on

SIEM as a Service

Follow Us on Google News

WhatsApp introduced ‘delete for everyone’ feature last year. this is a quite life-saving feature which let you recall the message that you sent accidentally.

Security Consultant Shitesh Sachan, noted that the feature was not working an intended with media files if the recipient using an iPhone and having WhatsApp feature Save to Camera Roll enabled.

This feature is available only for iPhone users and it can be enabled or enabled WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Save to Camera Roll.

WhatsApp Feature Save to Camera Roll

The problem is that if a user having this feature enabled then automatically images will get saved in the device’s Camera Roll and it cannot be deleted. Because of security restriction with iOS that denies third-party apps in accessing device gallery without permission.

According to Shitesh Sachan findings shared with GBHackers On Security, if the sender accidentally posted a photo and if he wants to delete the message using ‘delete for everyone’ feature the message will get delete only from the Whatsapp chat thread and not from Gallery if the recipient uses the iOS device.

With the android device the feature works as intended, Whatsapp can delete the photo’s saved in the Gallery, but not with iOS device’s,

“WhatsApp should accept and tell to everybody that images will not get removed from Iphone users if they have enabled this feature or they should remove the item once user requested for that despite having that feature enabled,” Shitesh Sachan added.

The issue is more sensitive in the case of Whatsapp group’s that contains both iOS and Android users. If user A shared a confidential photo in the group, later he deletes the message using ‘delete for everyone’ feature it works only for Android devices and not for iOS devices.

WhatsApp explained in a statement shared to The Hacker News, that using ‘delete for everyone’ feature removes the media from the chat thread, but if the user selected to save with Camera Roll, then it is out of WhatsApp control.

WhatsApp possibly make changes in the future release, it is always safe to double-check the messages before sending it.

Related Read:

WhatsApp Web – A Complete Guide To Use on Windows, Mac, Linux

Israel Firm Linked With WhatsApp Spyware Hack Faces Lawsuit

Gurubaran
Gurubaran
Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security. He has 10+ years of experience as a Security Consultant, Editor, and Analyst in cybersecurity, technology, and communications.

Latest articles

UK Pressures Apple to Create Global Backdoor To Spy on Encrypted iCloud Access

United Kingdom has reportedly ordered Apple to create a backdoor allowing access to all...

Autonomous LLMs Reshaping Pen Testing: Real-World AD Breaches and the Future of Cybersecurity

Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming penetration testing (pen testing), leveraging their advanced reasoning...

Securing GAI-Driven Semantic Communications: A Novel Defense Against Backdoor Attacks

Semantic communication systems, powered by Generative AI (GAI), are transforming the way information is...

Cybercriminals Target IIS Servers to Spread BadIIS Malware

A recent wave of cyberattacks has revealed the exploitation of Microsoft Internet Information Services...

Supply Chain Attack Prevention

Free Webinar - Supply Chain Attack Prevention

Recent attacks like Polyfill[.]io show how compromised third-party components become backdoors for hackers. PCI DSS 4.0’s Requirement 6.4.3 mandates stricter browser script controls, while Requirement 12.8 focuses on securing third-party providers.

Join Vivekanand Gopalan (VP of Products – Indusface) and Phani Deepak Akella (VP of Marketing – Indusface) as they break down these compliance requirements and share strategies to protect your applications from supply chain attacks.

Discussion points

Meeting PCI DSS 4.0 mandates.
Blocking malicious components and unauthorized JavaScript execution.
PIdentifying attack surfaces from third-party dependencies.
Preventing man-in-the-browser attacks with proactive monitoring.

More like this

DeepSeek iOS App Leaks Data to ByteDance Servers Without Encryption

DeepSeek iOS app—a highly popular AI assistant recently crowned as the top iOS app...

Malicious Android & iOS Apps Downloaded Over 242,000 Times, Stealing Crypto Recovery Keys

A sophisticated malware campaign, dubbed SparkCat, has infiltrated Google Play and Apple’s App Store,...

Is this Website Safe: How to Check Website Safety – 2025

is this website safe? In this digital world, Check a website is safe is...