WhatsApp warning over app 'loophole' that could see you get hacked

A warning has been issued to WhatsApp users from tech experts over their online safety.

The popular messaging app has a rather large loophole that experts say could make you susceptible to hacking. They say that scammers could gain access and read your texts, BirminghamLive reported. 

The app is said to have a big loophole that could let hackers read your messages to friends, family members and colleagues.

@WABetaInfo on Twitter wrote: "WhatsApp is also working to bring end-to-end encrypted LOCAL backups on WhatsApp beta for Android! They were working on E2EE backups on Google Drive, but they will extend the feature for local backups as well. This feature will be available in a future update."

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A user replied: "Can you explain more about local backup? Asking for a friend."

And another wrote: "What does e2e encryption even mean when we are talking about data encryption at rest? This makes no sense to me whatsoever."

"Will this enable restoring android backup to iOS?" asked another.

@WABetaInfo replied: "No, because they are two different features."

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WhatsApp chats on the app are end-to-end encrypted but can be accessed on the cloud if they are backed up.

Media files and message histories can be accessed by authorities with a search warrant, it has been warned.

The cloud services are also susceptible to hacking from scammers and fraudsters, too, tech experts have spent years warning online.