Modified versions of WhatsApp have been with us for years. If you like the world of APKs and customization, surely names like WhatsApp Plus sound familiar to you, version we recently tested, GBWhatsApp and others. All of them are WhatsApp MODs, versions with extra functions to attract users, but that involve some other danger.
We are going to explain to you what exactly these versions of WhatsApp are, what problems are there with the most common and why we will always recommend you to use the official WhatsApp application instead of these.
As its name suggests, a MOD is a modified version of a game, program or any type of app. In the case of WhatsApp, those known as WhatsApp MODs are different versions in which WhatsApp elements are modified. Basically, these apps give us customization options, such as themes, custom icons, settings to change the font type … In other words, they let us jump the limits of the original WhatsApp APK to leave the app to our liking.
Apart from these customization functions, this type of MODs usually allow hiding the status on-line, greater control over blue checks, set passwords to access certain chats and some functions that can attract users.
Certainly, the modified versions of WhatsApp are more complete than the original app itself, although over time WhatsApp has been updated to be more complete. Today, a MOD version of WhatsApp does not contribute enough to take risks. What are these risks?
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Install modified versions of WhatsApp, first of all, may carry risk of ban. Over the years these versions have been improving their methods to prevent this from happening. In fact, you may have been using these types of apps for months without a problem, but the risk will always be there: WhatsApp does not like modified versions and will ban you if it detects them.
The main problem comes at the security level. We are installing modified versions of an app that accesses our messages, phone, multimedia and more. WhatsApp shares some of this information with FacebookSo it’s not a great example to follow, either, but modified versions expose the user to data theft by third parties. All your private information can end up being sent to servers where you don’t want it to be.
Currently there are several modified versions of WhatsApp, such as WhatsApp Plus, GBWhatsApp, WhatsApp Aero or the recent FMWhatsApp, from which your news has jumped about how dangerous it is. We have passed these applications through VirusTotal, a powerful tool that detects malicious elements in apps.
Of course, it is not infallible, but it is a good option that gives us clues about how dangerous an app can be and the elements that should not be in it. Analyzing all these apps VirusTotal has found Trojans. The “cleanest” is WhatsApp Plus, in which the alert is only detected by AdWare.
In addition to containing AdWare, some of these apps contain dangerous Trojans that can put the information on your phone at risk. One of them is Android / Trojan.Agent, a Trojan that runs in the background without our knowledge and that can steal information to send it to servers.
It is up to the user to take a risk or not. What is shown is that WhatsApp MODs are less secure than the official app, that many of them contain powerful Trojans and that your account may be at risk of being banned. Too many inconveniences in exchange for a few extra features, in our opinion.
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The news
What are WhatsApp MODs and why shouldn’t you install them on your Android?
was originally published in
Engadget Android
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