Great care! Anyone with your phone number could deactivate your WhatsApp account

The vulnerability has been temporarily disabled by Meta, but it is important that users are aware of the risk and take steps to protect their accounts.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging applications in the world, and a clear example is its more than 2,000 million active users. Being a large platform, it is common for hackers to be aware of vulnerabilities in the service.

Although the app Goal provides a secure communication environment and end-to-end encryption to protect the privacy of users, it also faces challenges in terms of security.

Recently, it has been revealed a potential risk that could leave user accounts disabled remotely, simply by knowing the associated phone number.

Deactivating your account with just an email and your phone number: a real threat

Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, has set off alarm bells by highlighting a new WhatsApp vulnerability. According to his research, any malicious person, from an abusive partner to someone who knows your phone number, could deactivate your account by sending an email to Meta’s headquarters.

This discovery raises serious concerns in terms of privacy and personal security, as any individual with malicious intent could interfere with communication and gain access to confidential information. Worst of all, it would be done completely remotely.

According to Moore, the procedure for deactivate a whatsapp account it is quite simple. Just send an email to Meta, with the specific phrase: “Lost/Stolen phone: Please deactivate my account”accompanied by the associated phone number in full international format.

This is apparently all it takes to disable someone’s WhatsApp account, so it’s a serious problem as anyone with knowledge of your number could make use of this vulnerability.

Once the account has been deactivated, the affected person will lose their profile photo and all messages sent will remain in a pending state, showing a single check. In the end, this leads to the interruption of communication with your contacts, the deletion of your history, loss of data and, potentially, unauthorized access to personal information.

Fortunately, Meta has taken temporary measures to stop WhatsApp account deactivation feature. So, if you have been a victim of this vulnerability, don’t worry, you can relink WhatsApp with a phone number that has been deactivated, but this action shows how easy and simple it can be to close a person’s account .