Instant messaging applications like WhatsApp are ubiquitous today, making it easier to communicate and have more information about a person than ever before. This information can be misused, as in certain cases of criminal harassment, but it can also be used to follow and protect relatives, especially children. Apps use WhatsApp login data, and allow parents to monitor their children’s online activity, location, messages, and more.
WhatsApp Online Status Tracker
According to Statista, WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app, with over two billion monthly active users. When a person logs into WhatsApp (that is, when they open the app, or bring it to the foreground on their smartphone), an indicator changes, setting their status as “Online”. This indicator is public information that can be used by anyone to create an online or offline status monitoring service. This is what some applications do, which allow you to display all the WhatsApp statistics of a series of people, such as your family members for example, and to obtain a detailed report. These tools allow parents to verify that their children are safe: if they are online, it means that they have access to their phone, that they can be contacted.
“Last seen” is not equivalent to “online”
WhatsApp allows a user to hide their “last seen” time. Some users think that this option allows them to protect them from external surveillance, presence, but in reality it does not really protect their privacy. The “online” status cannot be hidden: as soon as the application is used, it is activated. Tracking apps can therefore still tell if a user is “online” even if they haven’t interacted with someone on messaging. WhatsApp recognizes in its FAQ that it is not possible to deactivate “Online”: “Thanks to our privacy settings, you have the ability to control who can see your last visit. Please note that you cannot hide your online status. ” This is a guarantee of safety for parents: children cannot manipulate this information themselves.
Users Worried About Harassment on Whatsapp
In theory, this type of application cannot be used to track a person (a spouse, for example) without their knowledge or permission, unless a persistent notification is displayed during data transmission. However, the possibility of this type of harassment is of great concern to users, although this feature is still very useful for parents.
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