WhatsApp bans users of third-party apps such as WhatsApp Plus

WhatsApp is not happy about the fact that people are using third-party clients such as WhatsApp Plus and it has started instituting 24-hour bans on users who rely on these. According to WhatsApp, this is in violation of its ‘Terms of Service’. Users of other apps such as WhatsAppMD have also been affected. In a statement issued on its blog, WhatsApp has officially accepted the ban and goes on to state, “WhatsApp Plus is an application that was not developed by WhatsApp, nor is it authorised by WhatsApp. The developers of WhatsApp Plus have no relationship to WhatsApp, and we do not support WhatsApp Plus. Please be aware that WhatsApp Plus contains source code which WhatsApp cannot guarantee as safe and that your private information is potentially being passed to 3rd parties without your knowledge or authorization.” WhatsApp wants users to uninstall the unofficial apps and install the authorised version of the app to get rid of the ban. Considering the spate of security threats via third party apps, specially the ones which are side-loaded, it isn’t surprising that WhatsApp has taken this step. These apps also make use of WhatsApp’s network without any permissions. Recently, there were reports of WhatsApp testing a **calling feature** . Although officially unconfirmed, the screenshots point to the fact that voice calling is being tested and that it will appear separate from the chatting functionality. Call logs, dialling and contacts screen is handled by separate screens, based on the screenshots.