If you are wondering if a WhatsApp message lying in your phone about some dangerous ‘black dot’ is authentic or just a hoax, here is the reality check for you- touching such a black dot would actually cause WhatsApp to hang- be it iPhones or Android handsets.
Yes, it is true! In fact, once touched, the damage would be so much that you then have to close and relaunch WhatsApp. And the worst news is that in case of Android phones, this new bug will crash not only just the app but also the phone. Scary!
But how come a black dot can cause so much damage? According to throngs of Reddit users, the message works by hiding within a bunch of characters, masquerading as a ‘text bomb.’ Once tapped on, it will expand and cause the app to overload and perhaps even freeze your phone.
When the same message was converted into HTML, the mischief came into notice. The message used an RLM (right-to-left mark) approach which is the opposite of WhatsApp’s Left-to-Right format. Since it is an invisible character, no one can see it, but due to multiple uses of this technique, the app could get overwhelmed causing it to freeze.
Even worrisome fact is that apart from most common versions is the aforementioned black dot variety, there are several variations of the message so it’s hard to know what exactly to look out for.
Scared for your phone? Relax as the bug is not that fatal as it seems. You simply need to reset your phone to bring it back to normal if the message has caused it to freeze. None of the users who have been victim to the bug have reported any lost data or potential hack.