Have you thought about what happens if one day you cannot access WhatsApp? Most likely you will stop being in contact with friends and family, at least through that medium, in addition to not being able to receive messages from groups you are in, in some cases important messages that have to do with work. You may even use WhatsApp to contact customers in your business and if it stops working it can affect you. In this article we echo how it could stop working simply because of an email.
A simple email can make your WhatsApp deactivate and no longer available. Also, that e-mail could be sent by anyone. This was recently discovered by a user who has echoed through social networks. A major problem, right? We are going to tell you what exactly it consists of.
WhatsApp deactivated by email
This discovery has been made by Jake Moore, a Twitter user who has realized that anyone can send an email to WhatsApp to deactivate an account. But what does this mean? The idea is that when someone loses access to your phone (for example if it’s stolen or lost) you can request that they deactivate your account and thus avoid problems. You just need an email and a phone number. Apparently, from WhatsApp they don’t do any more checking.
Jake Moore
@JakeMooreUK
I tried it on my test device. It worked! https://t.co/WH5T2oa8W7
July 19, 2023 • 09:31
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Therefore, if it is as simple as it indicates, someone could pose as the legitimate user of a WhatsApp account and request its deactivation. From there, it will no longer be available and we will not be able to access the chats, nor send or receive messages. A problem that would have to be solved later, registering the account again and carrying out a process that, at the very least, will waste time.
According to information from WhatsApp, in case the phone is stolen we can always call the mobile operator and have them block the number. That will prevent them from using it to register on the platform. From there, users would have to request a new SIM card from the operator and, in this way, reactivate the account.
But there is the option of sending an email to WhatsApp indicating that the device has been lost or stolen and requesting that the account be deactivated in the body of the email, in addition to attaching a number in international format.
Account disabled for 30 days
From there, that account will become deactivated for 30 days. After that time, it will be deleted automatically. During that time, the contacts will be able to continue sending messages to that deactivated account. It is important to reactivate the account before the end of that month, otherwise it will be deleted.
According to Jake Moore, WhatsApp does not verify the identity of the owner once you request to deactivate the account. He carried out a test by sending an email to deactivate an account on this platform that he used simply to test and WhatsApp effectively deactivated it. In fact, it acts immediately when it receives the request.
In addition, it indicates that users do not receive information once the account is deactivated. They will not receive an SMS or a call to the phone number that is linked to that account. It is possible to reactivate the account, but in the case of accounts that are used sporadically, for example in certain companies, it could take that time until they are permanently deleted.
It should be added that users cannot do much more to protect their accounts. The only thing they could do is re-register once they have deactivated it. But of course, as we say that is going to make us, at least, lose time. Just as you must act well if you receive fake links on WhatsApp, you must also protect your devices and avoid many other attacks.
