WhatsApp user? BEWARE of Mods; here is why you should delete them now from phone

Your WhatsApp experience can be elevated with some unofficial features, which are available from WhatsApp mods. What is a WhatsApp Mod? Well, it is an unofficial version of WhatsApp that lure users by promising them features that are not on official WhatsApp app. In fact WhatsApp Mods are changed versions of the Facebook-owned WhatsApp app. They are created by third-party developers and are built to resemble WhatsApp in almost all ways plus provide more features. But, they are not stable, and some malicious actors spread malware through them. 'Mod' stands for modified, of course. Examples of WhatsApp mods are FMWhatsApp and GBWhatsApp.

Hence, you might be tempted to try one of these WhatsApp mods to get customizable UIs and more chat options. While the deal seems excellent, you are likely better far away from such WhatsApp mods. We recommend not using them since these aren’t normal apps. You won’t find them on the Play Store, because they aren’t allowed to be, so you will have to sideload their APK.

Downloading apps from Google Play Store is a satisfactory experience since you know those apps have passed several security checks and cleared various levels of requirements. Now, you might say that the system isn’t perfect and some unofficial apps make their way to the Play Store, which is correct. However, Google doesn’t just sell any random app to its users.

When you download an app from the Play Store, there are added security measures. For the unaware, Google runs a safety check on the app itself, as well as your device. It helps the company make sure there aren’t any harmful apps in your library. However, sideloading WhatsApp mods doesn’t require any level of security clearance. Therefore, there is an inherent risk to the practice of sideloading apps to your smartphone.

As if that wasn’t enough, most WhatsApp mods come with malware and target your phone with the intention of committing fraud. Recently, FMWhatsApp was discovered to be spreading the Triada mobile Trojan, which infected devices with code that could read SMSs, open ads, and launch subscriptions. Such WhatsApp mods aren’t end-to-end encrypted, meaning that your messages aren’t protected by the same security measures that you normally get with WhatsApp. Hence, your conversations can be exposed to any third party.

Furthermore, you aren’t just risking your privacy by downloading WhatsApp mods. Instead, you are risking your entire WhatsApp account as it will get officially banned by the company. WhatsApp isn’t a fan of these mods and has banned users in the past for using them. The bottom line is that WhatsApp mods aren’t safe. The customizations they offer might seem appealing but you are better of not downloading such apps.