Messaging apps like Telegram are Facebook-owned WhatsApp are difficult to tamper with as they use end-to-end encryption. But once there is content downloaded to your Android phone, the apps become vulnerable to eavesdropping and malicious changes if there is malware on the phone.
WhatsApp by default stores downloaded attachments, like images and audio clips, in what Android calls “external storage,” where it’s accessible by other apps with the right permissions, according to Symantec. Telegram will also do so if you enable a “Save to Gallery” option in the app, Symantec reports.
That means that other apps can read and modify those attachments, potentially even before you see them in the messaging tool or open them in another app. As Symantec points out, that could let malicious apps alter images or audio messages you receive or even, say, edit payment information in invoices to steal money.
Thankfully, there is a way to avoid the danger of having your files altered. Know more about this on Fast Company.
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