A few years ago, it was possible to spy on WhatsApp conversations simply by being connected to the same WiFi network as the sender or receiver of the messages. The conversations were not encrypted, and therefore, by capturing the network traffic, it was possible to view the conversations without too many complications.
Currently, this is no longer possible, like many other tricks to spy on WhatsApp that no longer worked. For a long time, the messaging app has encrypted conversations end-to-end. This means that when you send a message, it is encrypted on your device, and that way travels over the Internet. Upon reaching the mobile phone of the person you are writing to, it is decrypted, and it is at that moment that it can be read; when it is already on the other device.
However, there are still options to spy on a person’s mobile. As I said, to be able to use these methods, it is necessary to have physical access to the mobile where the WhatsApp account is active, but only for a few minutes.
WhatsApp Web, one of the simplest methods
One of the most common and easy to apply methods is WhatsApp Web. All you have to do is log into the service on a computer to view all the messages that are sent and received, as well as all previous conversations (attachments included).
Once you log into a computer, WhatsApp does not notify you when the web version is open, so they may be spying on you without you knowing. What does happen is that if they open a conversation with messages that you have not read yet, these will also be marked as read on your mobile, something that can start to make you suspicious.
If you think that you may be being spied on with this method, you must access the Settings section of the app, open WhatsApp Web, and there you will see all the open sessions. If there is one that you do not know, you can close it remotely, and it cannot be reopened remotely. To start it again, it will be necessary to reread the QR code of the web version from the mobile, so the spy would need physical access again.
Spy software for mobile phones
Another more sophisticated method is to use some spyware. On the market, there are several applications that can be installed on iOS (iPhone) and Android devices that work in the background and are capable of recording practically everything that happens on the device.
If your device has one of these applications installed, it is very difficult for it to be detected, and the spy may be watching absolutely all your conversations remotely.
For a spy to do this, they need to have access to your device for a long time and also that the device has root access or jailbreak applied. In addition, in the case of iOS, it may also be necessary to have access to your iCloud password.
This type of software works transparently on mobile. There is no way to detect them with the naked eye, although one of the problems they usually cause is a drop in performance of the device or that it overheats too much due to the exhaustive use they make of the processor and the data connection or WiFi they make.
If you suspect that you may be being spied on with an application of this type, the fastest way to get rid of it is to restore the mobile to factory state. You can make copies of your photos and other content first, but total restoration is the fastest way to get rid of them.
If we decide to use a spy application of this type, it is best to look for one that is reliable and works correctly. We should discard any free online app or service that offers us the possibility of being able to spy on WhatsApp quickly and easily since it is normal that we find some surprise and not exactly pleasant and is that the fact of spying on WhatsApp is one of the most used claims by all those who try to infect us with some type of virus or malware to steal certain information from our device.