#TechBytes: How to keep WhatsApp group links from being exposed
Recently, DW's Jordan Wildon flagged a major bug in WhatsApp - an issue that allowed Google and other search engines to index invitation links to private groups on the messaging service. The vulnerability raised alarms from privacy advocates, but the good news is, there is already a way to protect your personal groups from being exposed on the internet. Here's all about it.
First, a quick recap of the issue
As Wildon highlighted through a series of tweets, a number of WhatsApp group invitations, many of which were supposed to be private, were available on Google. Basically, he had noted that the links generated through the 'Invite to Group via Link' feature of WhatsApp were being indexed, immediately making those groups - and their chats, members' numbers - available and discoverable online.
Many controversial groups were found
Wildon's investigation of the issue revealed several controversial WhatsApp groups, including those related to child porn, through simple Google searches. WhatsApp, on its part, claimed that the groups were available online because their invite links were shared in the public domain, outside of the messaging service. This means if your group's invitation link has been shared publicly, it may have been indexed on Google.
Google removed some invitation links, but you can't be sure
Even though WhatsApp described making links public as an intentional product decision, it did take some steps to remove the existing listings of private group invitations from Google Search. However, the thing is, it just removed the old listings and new ones can always pop up on Google and other search engines like Bing, Yandex, and DuckDuckGo.
So, how to protect your own WhatsApp group?
If you think your WhatsApp group's invitation link has been shared publicly by a member and is at risk of being accessed by random people, then you should reset the link immediately. This can be done by simply going to the group in question, tapping on its name, selecting 'Group Info' and then going to 'Invite to Group via Link' > 'Reset Link'.
Also, add members by contacts only
Once you reset the link, the older one will become invalid and no individual would be able to use it to enter your private group. However, given that the problem stems from link-based invitation, we'd suggest using only contacts to add group members. That is because once you generate/share a link, you won't know which member is sharing it where and with whom.
