Other Technology | June 6, 2023
Surely, on some occasion, you have wondered if it is possible for someone to spy on your WhatsApp or even if it is possible to “take a look” at someone else’s WhatsApp. The short answer is yes, it is possible to spy on WhatsApp, and there are several methods to do so.
As millions of people use WhatsApp, the interest in spying or hacking into others’ WhatsApp accounts continues to grow. Many believe they have justified reasons to do so, but the reality is that engaging in such activities is illegal. Moreover, we must take extreme precautions to avoid malware, viruses, and scams that populate the internet under this pretext.
A few years ago, it was possible to spy on WhatsApp conversations simply by being connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the sender or receiver of the messages. The conversations were not encrypted, so capturing network traffic made it possible to view the conversations without much difficulty for those knowledgeable in the field.
However, this is no longer possible today. WhatsApp has been using end-to-end encryption for some time now. This means that when you send a message, it is encrypted on your device and travels in that form over the internet. Upon reaching the recipient’s mobile phone, it is decrypted, and at that specific moment, it can be read. Therefore, there is no way to intercept the messages through Wi-Fi. Attempting to spy on someone else’s chat could potentially be considered a criminal offense.
The illegality of these actions is covered by Article 197 of the Criminal Code, which considers it a crime of disclosure and revelation of secrets. The punishment can range from 1 to 4 years of imprisonment. Therefore, spying on WhatsApp is illegal, as the methods used for such purposes are considered criminal offenses. Although the Criminal Code originally focused on letters or postcards received by a person, over time and with new technologies, this specification has been extended to all types of electronic communications.
Within Article 197 of the Criminal Code mentioned earlier, it clearly specifies that spying behaviors violate the privacy of any person, whether through papers, letters, email messages, text messages, or any other personal written document. This also includes fraudulent eavesdropping through recordings or any other means to achieve such purposes.
But it doesn’t end there. It is also considered illegal to simply access a third party’s mobile phone without their consent, even if no information is collected and only the smartphone or tablet is unlocked.
The consequences are very serious. As stated in the aforementioned article:
Anyone who, with knowledge of its illicit origin and without having taken part in its discovery, performs the conduct described in the preceding paragraph shall be punished with imprisonment for one to three years and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months.
Everything we’ve been discussing is magnified when it comes to individuals in a romantic relationship because the law considers it a serious offense. A spouse or partner is considered someone much closer to the victim. These actions could even be considered as mistreatment since they can be interpreted as a form of control over the partner, which could potentially fall under domestic violence laws.
The law specifically emphasizes both the intrusion into someone’s privacy and the methods used to achieve this. When someone gains access to another person’s mobile phone through computer systems such as cracking, malware, or similar actions, it is considered more severe because premeditation and absolute knowledge of the act are demonstrated.
However, in other cases where accidental or even deliberately provoked unlocks occur, but with knowledge of the password of another person’s device, they could be considered as isolated incidents. While still punishable, it would need to be proven that there was no premeditation or treachery involved.
Furthermore, since 2015, law considers the mere act of purchasing, possessing, or providing spy applications as a crime, even if they are not ultimately used. In other words, applications that violate another person’s privacy, which is fundamental in our Criminal Code, are strictly regulated to protect us from all of these activities we have been discussing.
What happens if we read messages from underage children? Be careful, being a minor does not mean that a teenager does not have the same rights. Article 4 of the Law on the Protection of Minors 1/1995 states that minors are also protected:
What happens is that we must demonstrate that if we have accessed WhatsApp to read a conversation, it has been for a purpose covered by point 2 of this right, to protect them. It depends on whether we habitually use spyware without consent for a 16 or 17-year-old, or if we simply access their mobile phone to read their WhatsApp conversations because we suspect someone is threatening them or in cases of harassment by adults.
For example, the Audiencia de Pontevedra acquitted a father who was reported by his ex-wife for reading the minor’s WhatsApp messages. The mother of the child claimed that her ex-husband had violated her privacy, but the judges stated that there was no disclosure of secrets since they shared parental authority and therefore, education and control.
There are many cases related to WhatsApp and parents, but it is obvious and logical that being a minor does not give you the right to spy on anyone’s conversations as long as they are under your guardianship. In other words, even if a student in your school class is a minor, it does not mean you can forcefully take their phone and read their messages, nor can you install spyware if you are a teacher and want to know what they think about you. It is logical, and simply using common sense is enough to know that we would be breaking the law by doing so.
There are several steps we can take to see if we have been hacked or if someone is spying on us, such as if our account is open on another device or if someone is reading our conversations before we do. There are several options or rather, points that we need to be attentive to in order to discover if someone is actually reading our conversations.
By doing so, we can protect ourselves and prevent it. There are some signs that can indicate that something is happening, such as active sessions. For example, if you receive messages but never get the notification and they always appear as read before you read them.
One of the first things to consider is to quickly check from the same application installed on your smartphone. Basically, the first step is to review the active sessions associated with your account:
Here you will see the active sessions. For example, you may have a session open on a Google Chrome browser on a Windows computer, active at 16:40 today. If you don’t have any Windows computer or haven’t connected to your WhatsApp from a computer, you should tap on it and remove it.
If we suspect that our account has been stolen, it is possible that our number has been duplicated. It is recommended never to share the WhatsApp verification code received via SMS with anyone, not even with family or friends. If at any time we have done so and have lost access to the WhatsApp account, there are some steps to follow to recover the account. If we believe that someone else is using our WhatsApp account, we should inform those around us to prevent further sharing of private information. WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption, and messages are stored on our device, so they cannot read our past conversations, but they can read the ones we have from that moment.
To close the account of the person who is spying on us, we need to register on WhatsApp with our phone number and enter the 6-digit code we receive via SMS. Once we enter the code, the session of the person with access to our account will be automatically closed.
We may also be asked to enter a two-step verification code. If we don’t know the code, it is possible that the person spying on us has activated two-step verification. In that case, we have to wait seven days to access without the two-step verification code.
Although there is no foolproof trick beyond checking linked devices, there are some aspects to consider to know if we are being spied on or hacked. For example, messages that we did not send. If we detect messages sent by us in private conversations or groups that we do not recognize, this would be a good indication that someone else has access to our WhatsApp. In this regard, also pay attention to the photos and videos we may have sent, and be particularly careful with WhatsApp Web, one of the main ways for intruders to access our messaging service.
Another aspect to look out for is changes in our data, such as name, profile picture, status message, etc. In this regard, it may be that a change of phone has resulted in a modified photo, or when using WhatsApp on different devices, we may have made some changes to them that we do not remember on our usual device. Also, be concerned if you receive SMS messages with verification codes, as this would mean that someone is trying to access your account on your mobile phone without your permission. You should not give this code to anyone, including any application.
Finally, also check if your recent “Last Seen” status does not match your activity, and make sure that you have enabled notifications for access from another device so that when someone tries to do so, WhatsApp itself will notify you.
We cannot change the password, but we can prevent someone, such as a family member, from accessing it. We cannot know if someone has opened our WhatsApp on our mobile phone at home or at work, but it is always recommended to protect your smartphone with fingerprint lock to prevent this. In any case, if you suspect that your partner takes your phone when you are in the shower and knows your unlock pattern, you can individually lock WhatsApp for an extra layer of security.
Considering that fingerprint readers are a feature found in most devices on the market today, WhatsApp decided to add the function that allows us to protect access to the app with our fingerprint natively. Before this, it was necessary to configure it through the system settings, so we can do it either way.
To activate this lock through the app itself, the first thing we need to do is check that we have a version of WhatsApp that includes this option. If we have the app properly updated, here are the steps we should follow:
It is important to know that when activating this feature, we will have to use our fingerprint to open WhatsApp every time we want to use the app and it is locked. It is also possible to configure WhatsApp fingerprint lock from the system settings. The options or paths we are going to indicate may vary depending on the system version or the customization layer of the manufacturer of our mobile phone, but the basic steps to follow would be as follows:
If we want to use our face to unlock WhatsApp, on Android devices we will have to do it from the system settings since this is not a native feature offered by the popular messaging app like the fingerprint option. For iOS devices, if the iPhone model has both Touch ID and Face ID, we can activate it by following the steps mentioned in the previous section.
In the Google environment, the steps to follow are practically identical to those mentioned to activate fingerprint unlock from the system settings. The first thing we have to do is access the Settings on our mobile, tap on the Security and Privacy option, and then on App Lock. This will prompt us to enter the PIN code we have chosen for our fingerprint configuration, and then we will see the list of installed applications on the phone.
We search for WhatsApp, activate the switch next to it, and then, from Settings > Security and Privacy, we enter the Fingerprint ID or Face Recognition option. It will prompt us to enter our security PIN, and then we need to enable the switch next to the Access App Lock option. To confirm, it will ask us to enter the security PIN again, and then it will be activated.
A simple Google search shows us that there are many websites and applications that promise to spy on other people’s WhatsApp. However, these applications are usually quite dangerous because they promise a lot but deliver few results. In most cases, they end up asking us to register, requesting some data such as our phone number or even our credit card number. Spying on WhatsApp can be very costly as we can end up subscribed to a premium SMS service, infected with a virus or malware, etc.
Many of you already know about WhatsDog, an Android application that allows us to “spy” on our contacts. With it, we can know when they connect and disconnect automatically, even if they have blocked us or don’t have our phone number saved. But be careful, contrary to what its developers claim, the person being spied on can catch us while we are using WhatsDog.
Although its developers have tried to hide this reality, the truth is that WhatsDog is not an “infallible” method. Leaving aside the ethical issue of spying on WhatsApp users, the developers themselves have pushed the boundaries of “morality” with their behavior. On several occasions, they publicly stated that WhatsDog spies on WhatsApp users without them realizing it. And that is not true.
WhatsApp Spy is an application that emerged several years ago and has been circulating uncontrollably on the Internet ever since. In a short time, it gained considerable popularity. The application is only available for Android due to the security restrictions of iOS and the difficulty of installing applications from outside the official Apple App Store.
Additionally, websites have been created that promise to emulate the functionality of WhatsApp Spy or offer everything necessary to get it running. In other words, a significant movement has been generated around WhatsApp Spy that many have tried to take advantage of. The problem? It is a scam that we should avoid, no matter how curious it may make us.
In reality, we cannot download WhatsApp Spy for Android. However, certain websites may still offer APK files for Android claiming to be WhatsApp Spy but actually hiding malware or malicious applications that can end up causing trouble for us.
Other websites offer alternatives such as Cell Hack 5.0, which we can download for free. Interestingly, there is no direct link to an .apk file, and we always have to go through intermediary registration websites that ask for our phone number. This is quite common on the Internet and aims to sign us up for a premium SMS program with a very high cost.
Supposedly, WhatsApp Spy only asks for the phone number of the person we want to spy on and their country code to “connect to the correct network.” Once we fill in those details, clicking on “Spy” should gather all the conversations into a file that we can review later. Obviously, this application does not work.
In 2013, the author was arrested, although years later, there are still people searching for information about the application. At that time, the Spanish National Police arrested a 23-year-old man from Murcia as the person responsible for the fake application WhatsApp Spy, which had reportedly earned him more than 40,000 euros. Although there weren’t many complaints, the Spanish National Police estimated that many people ended up paying between 1.5 and 7 euros depending on the mobile operator, and there could be more than 11,000 affected individuals.
