WhatsApp Messenger 12+

I had a pop up from WhatsApp requesting access to all photos. I can't even remember the last time I used the app (it has been over a year) and at the time the pop up was displayed I was browsing in Safari. Since I didn't expect the pop up I mindlessly clicked Allow and then immediately went into settings to revoke all photos access. WhatsApp should not be requesting access to all photos out of the blue.

I'm giving 4 stars because the app worked fine as far as I remember. I wanted to report the issue to WhatsApp but have not found a way to do that so am attempting to let somebody know by writing a review. I'll probably delete the app now though to avoid future occurrences. It makes me suspicious of what it could possibly be doing in the background without my knowledge because I didn't do anything that should result in WhatsApp wanting access to my photos.

So you know how you often get random calls/texts from bots/scammers? Well, that's a thing on WhatsApp too, and it's even worse, because suddenly, without any warning, I find my number added to some cryptocurrency group scam thing on WhatsApp. What the heck is this?? I promptly left the group, and deleted the chats from my phone. But there's no guarantee that similar groups won't add my number. I'm telling you, Facebook/Meta needs to crack down on these groups. They're clearly scams trying to destroy your life, and yet they are allowed to operate unrestricted on WhatsApp. Either that, or implement a feature where when someone adds you to a group, it's an invitation, and to actually join the group, you have to accept the invitation. Lots of other online chat apps do this already, but WhatsApp does not, and WhatsApp specifically seems to be the chat app of choice for scammers because A) lots of people use it, and B) they can just add you to a group WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT!! If it's really that hard for Meta/Facebook with ALL OF THEIR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to implement a simple feature or put some resources to blocking scammers, then I cannot in good faith recommend WhatsApp to anyone. I can't get rid of this garbage though because several important, legitimate chats I'm a part of are on WhatsApp.

This app is full of fake accounts and scammers. Do not believe ANYONE on a dating app who asks you to move to talking to them on WhatsApp. I nearly had my entire account stolen if I hadn’t looked up popular whatsapp scams online first. If you are asked to go to WhatsApp, do not share your photos or your personal info like full name or date of birth or location proper. If things seem fine and then they send an emoji that makes no sense, do not bother opening the message. Immediately uninstall WhatsApp because the emoji will try and crash your WhatsApp and if you force close it without removing it first, it will crash your phone and then the scammer has full access to everything on your phone. I thought everything was fine until this guy sent me a cow emoji on a post about me telling him I hoped he had a good day. When I opened my WhatsApp the entire screen went blurry and I couldn’t maneuver the app, so I just went to the home screen without closing it, and then completely removed WhatsApp. I have had far too many people on dating apps try to get me to just use WhatsApp with very suspicious habits. Do yourself a favor, don’t do it.