WhatsApp is testing a new warning for Android users who connect their accounts through unofficial WhatsApp Web clients. The warning appears in the Linked devices section and asks users to switch to the official WhatsApp Web.
This feature could help protect WhatsApp users from fake versions of the app, which could potentially be used for scams.
The feature was discovered in WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.35.1, available through the Google Play Store. Although WhatsApp can already detect unofficial Web clients, the warning itself remains under development and is not yet available to beta testers.
An unofficial WhatsApp Web client operates between a user’s account and WhatsApp’s servers. As a result, messages, contacts, and media may pass through software that WhatsApp neither developed nor verified.
The official WhatsApp Web maintains end-to-end encryption. However, an unofficial client could potentially access data before it is encrypted or after it has been decrypted.
This means users of third-party clients cannot be certain that their conversations remain private. They could also lose their data or account even if the unofficial client closely resembles WhatsApp Web.
When WhatsApp detects that a user may have linked their account through an unofficial web client, it displays a warning at the bottom of the Linked devices screen.
The message tells users to switch to the official WhatsApp Web to continue using their account safely. Users can dismiss the warning, but WhatsApp will continue showing it until they switch to the official client.
Users should check that they are accessing WhatsApp Web through the official website in their browser.
The warning may appear in several situations. Browser extensions that embed WhatsApp Web within another interface could trigger the alert, while third-party applications that copy the WhatsApp Web experience are also considered unofficial clients.
Some of these tools offer additional features, but they may act as an intermediary between users and WhatsApp. WhatsApp cannot verify how these services handle user data or whether they meet the same security standards as its official software.
Any web client other than the official WhatsApp Web accessed through a browser is therefore not considered safe.
In April, WhatsApp warned users who had been targeted by government spyware through unofficial apps.
Around 200 users in Italy were notified after attackers used a fake version of WhatsApp to install government-grade spyware on iPhones.
The unofficial application was distributed through phishing links rather than Apple’s App Store. Once installed, the spyware could access private messages, contacts, microphone and camera activity, as well as information from other applications.
WhatsApp has consistently advised users to download its software from official stores and avoid unofficial clients.
Users can avoid the new warning by accessing the official WhatsApp Web through web.whatsapp.com in a standard browser.
WhatsApp also advises users not to install suspicious browser extensions that modify the web client.
The official desktop application is available through WhatsApp’s website. Verified links to official beta applications for Mac and Windows are also available through WABetaInfo’s download page.
Users who are unsure whether they are using the official client can check the address displayed in their browser. If the URL does not point to web.whatsapp.com, they are not using the official WhatsApp Web.
WhatsApp is already detecting unofficial Web clients in the background, but the warning in the Linked devices section is still being developed.
For this reason, most users will not see the alert yet, including beta testers running the latest version.
WhatsApp is expected to make the feature available in a future update, but the company has not announced a timeline for its public release.
The development follows another recent WhatsApp update in which the platform launched an AI content label for channels on iOS.
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