Google has removed a fake version of the application from Google App Store, which has been downloaded by users more than a million times.
The application, named Update Whatsapp Messenger, appeared to have been developed by Whatsapp itself, carrying its name that accompanies its official application: WhatsApp Inc.
According to users on the famous Reddit Web forum, the fake application from Whatsapp contained ads, and it was downloading other software on users' machines.
The developer developed a trick that made the application look like the same, using the same official name on the store, by replacing the space between WhatsApp and Inc with a special icon that looked like a space. A subtle difference that is difficult for the average user to discover.
Users receiving automatic updates via Whatsapp are not affected by the fake application.
It is also not the first time Google has deleted a fake application from the Google Play store. In 2015, it removed an application that defined itself as a battery control application, but in fact it was sending high-cost text messages from victims' phones.
The application, named Update Whatsapp Messenger, appeared to have been developed by Whatsapp itself, carrying its name that accompanies its official application: WhatsApp Inc.
According to users on the famous Reddit Web forum, the fake application from Whatsapp contained ads, and it was downloading other software on users' machines.
The developer developed a trick that made the application look like the same, using the same official name on the store, by replacing the space between WhatsApp and Inc with a special icon that looked like a space. A subtle difference that is difficult for the average user to discover.
Users receiving automatic updates via Whatsapp are not affected by the fake application.
It is also not the first time Google has deleted a fake application from the Google Play store. In 2015, it removed an application that defined itself as a battery control application, but in fact it was sending high-cost text messages from victims' phones.
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