Recently, many people started reporting they are temporarily banned from using WhatsApp. These bans were increasing in duration and seemed to have suddenly popped up without any explanation. As it turns out, the bans are stepping stones to getting rid of the many mods out there for WhatsApp.
You see, as great as WhatsApp is, many features are still missing. These modded versions of Whatsapp provide added privacy features and some cool stuff like reading deleted messages, status and so on.
As a result, many of the audience had migrated from the official WhatsApp to these mods. However, there was a catch.
Also read: How secure are your photos on social media? And how to protect them
Why are modded versions of Whatsapp being banned?
All these mods were based on the WhatsApp base 2.19.115, which was discovered to have a security loophole that allowed hackers to access your device.
Now while WhatsApp has fixed this issue on the original version since they have no control over the many modded versions, millions of users remain at risk. Also, the fact that these users communicate with users that use the official version means that WhatsApp’s ‘end-to-end’ encryption is compromised.
Hence, to preserve user security and their fate, WhatsApp decided to go ahead and ban all the modded version users, forcing them to switch to the official version. These bans start as a 20-minute ban and can go as high as 24 hours. They even might extend to a permanent ban if the user doesn’t switch.
The bans are also quite annoying. They’ll pop up every time you’re using your phone, so much so that you’ll have to minimise them multiple times before being able to use your phone. Even then, they pop up after a couple of minutes.
Also read: Why I chose YoWhatsApp over other WhatsApp mods?
Will you be able to use modded versions again?
There is an outrage in the ‘modded’ community about these bans. Switching back to the original version means they lose a lot of functionality they are acquainted with. Most people (including myself) aren’t pleased about the decision.
Developers of all the leading mods have already posted updates that they’re working on updating the bases so that the new mods don’t get banned. Some have come up with fixes, while some, like YoWhatsApp (I use this one) are still being updated.
Developers are hurrying to update their mods to WhatsApp base 2.19.150, officially the latest one. Since most of these developers are independent and offer their mods free without ads, one can expect the process to be slow.
How it turns out for these developers, we are yet to see. One thing is clear, though, WhatsApp has upset many people with strict banning. Whether or not WhatsApp can provide functionality anywhere near these mods is also doubtful. Besides, WhatsApp’s glory days might be over with ads soon coming to the app.
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