WeChat is one of the most popular instant messaging apps you’ll find on your iPhone. You can talk and call people at a moment’s notice, which makes it great to stay in touch with friends or family.
However, there’s a tiny issue with this app. As it turns out, it’s not as safe as you’d expect. For starters, the app doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption for your messages.
Encrypting messages has become a staple in the instant messaging world, so it’s weird to see that WeChat doesn’t have this. To be fair, the app says it is the only messaging app to be certified by TRUSTe, which theoretically means the app is still safe to use.
However, there have been reports in the past of people in China getting in trouble for speaking badly of the Chinese government when using WeChat.
If they can easily access the messages of people in their own country, it’s possible the company is also checking the messages of people all over the world. Even Forbes calls WeChat “China’s Other Trojan Horse,” with the first being TikTok.
In Conclusion: Beware of the Apps on Your iPhone
As you can see from the list, most apps that have reportedly had security breaches and pose a threat to your privacy are social apps. Whether it’s social media platforms or instant messaging apps, you can never be too safe.
Be sure to either delete these apps completely or be wary about what type of data the app can gather and what type of information you store in it.
Related: All-in-One Privacy App and How to Easily Opt-out From Data Brokers That Track You Online