Scams on WhatsApp are unfortunately quite common but a fake WhatsApp is a bit of an oddity. But it did happen a couple of years back in 2016 when an app called WhatsApp Gold was being touted as an ‘upgrade’ to the original instant messaging app. Now, WhatsApp Gold is back and yet again remains fake. Users need to beware of it as last time around the fake app was downloaded more than a million times.
A few WhatsApp users took to Twitter to create awareness about the return of WhatsApp Gold. This time a video with the name in Martinelli will land in people’s WhatsApp which claims to be an update on WhatsApp. However the video is completely fake as one Twitter user pointed out, “FYI: Whatsapp Gold. A video will be launched tomorrow in Whatsapp called Martinelli. DO NOT OPEN it. Its a virus which goes into your phone and nothing will fix it. Do not update to Whatsapp Gold the virus is serious.”
If a user downloads the video, then a malware will be installed in the phone which would lead to the device being hacked.
On a related note, WhatsApp has quietly pushed a long awaited PiP feature with the latest version for the Android users too. Notably, the feature has been in beta mode for more than two months. It was first spotted in October for WhatsApp beta users. The PiP mode is reported to be coming to the users via the Play Store with WhatsApp stable version 2.18.380. Interestingly, there is no official changelog for the new change.
With the latest feature, WhatsApp Android users can view videos even when scrolling through the chat windows
For now, it is available for videos from YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram only. The feature gets activated as soon as one sends or receives a link.
