Overview
- Security advisories highlight that WhatsApp saves incoming photos, videos, audio and documents to devices by default, increasing exposure to malicious files.
- Malwarebytes, citing Google Project Zero, reports a vulnerability that can let harmful media spread in group chats and be saved automatically on newly added users’ phones.
- Users can reduce risk by going to Settings > Storage and data > Automatic media download and turning off downloads for mobile data, Wi‑Fi and roaming.
- Disabling auto-downloads does not block files from arriving but requires a manual choice to save them, giving users a chance to verify the sender and content.
- Additional hygiene steps include avoiding files from unknown numbers, keeping the operating system updated, reviewing Linked Devices for unauthorized sessions, enabling two-step verification and avoiding WhatsApp Web on shared computers.