WhatsApp didn’t comment on the search engine indexing and implied that admins are on their own

I guess this is now a feature, that WhatsApp will not do their very least of unlisting the publicly-accessible group links from search engines

via @josephfcox: https://t.co/VD5mB0kQLv pic.twitter.com/JyIvdklhsH

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) February 21, 2020

Search engines like Google & others list pages from the open web. That’s what’s happening here. It’s no different than any case where a site allows URLs to be publicly listed. We do offer tools allowing sites to block content being listed in our results: https://t.co/D1YIt228E3

— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) February 21, 2020

Here is WhatsApp's statement https://t.co/TzWjqQ4Lbh pic.twitter.com/GoPJkSY32k

— Joseph Cox (@josephfcox) February 21, 2020

New: Google is letting anyone find invite links to some private WhatsApp groups. Here is one we joined that is supposed to be for United Nations NGOs judging by its description. Can see members and get numbers https://t.co/TzWjqQmm2P pic.twitter.com/jda25POc0h

— Joseph Cox (@josephfcox) February 21, 2020

Uh, it's NOT Google's fault... it's WhatsApp's fault. May be a good time to use the URL Removal tool to hide that subdomain -> Google Is Letting People Find Invites to Some Private WhatsApp Groups https://t.co/mCErNkkFtX pic.twitter.com/RTOBWiucyx

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) February 21, 2020

Well this isn't remotely alarming... "Google Is Letting People Find Invites to Some Private WhatsApp Groups" https://t.co/Y48nLjVtaL

— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) February 21, 2020

Nice write-up from @josephfcox about the WhatsApp group privacy flaw I came across earlier.https://t.co/BRAUWAAHdK

— Jordan Wildon (@JordanWildon) February 21, 2020

Google indexes invite links to private WhatsApp group chats, exposing the participants and their phone numbers to anyone who discovers and joins the chats (Joseph Cox/VICE) https://t.co/46RNpOjTXJ

— Chris Heilmann (@codepo8) February 21, 2020

Google is indexing some private WhatsApp groups (?)

By using particular #Google searches, anyone can discover and join hundreds of thousands #WhatsApp groups.
Critical security issue...
https://t.co/SHsqe0rSZd
by @josephfcox

— Ersin Çahmutoğlu (@ersincmt) February 21, 2020

NEW: Google searches are revealing private WhatsApp group chats. https://t.co/tMXQyvq91a

— Motherboard (@motherboard) February 21, 2020

Google is indexing WhatsApp group chat links, making even private groups discoverable https://t.co/8GltyEvTBI pic.twitter.com/UI8MygrsvC

— The Verge (@verge) February 21, 2020

[#PRIVACY] Google is indexing WhatsApp group chat links, making private groups discoverable (by @TheVerge):https://t.co/o7kBqh11Er pic.twitter.com/YCPlJhGdeN

— Serge Courrier (@secou) February 21, 2020

Google is indexing WhatsApp group chat links, making even private groups discoverable https://t.co/QqJndufc35

— Jean-Noël Buisson (@jnbuisson) February 21, 2020

This just in: I’m a “Twitter user.”

Look ma, I made it.https://t.co/TaU3A7MOFu

— Jordan Wildon (@JordanWildon) February 21, 2020

Google is indexing public WhatsApp group invites and serving them in search results #WhatsApp #Google #Search https://t.co/WWxVBwZ8gc pic.twitter.com/1EhbSjjzjs

— Neowin (@NeowinFeed) February 21, 2020

Google is indexing invite links to private WhatsApp chats, allowing literally anyone to join https://t.co/fLqbRdBQnX @josephfcox

— Stephen Kenwright (@stekenwright) February 21, 2020

Google Is Letting People Find Invites to Some Private WhatsApp Groups - VICE #cybersecurity #infosec #informasec #Google #whatsapp #dataleak #dataprotection #dataprivacy https://t.co/YNr30Nl8pG

— Informasec (@Informasec) February 22, 2020

With particular Google searches, anyone can discover and join hundreds of thousands of WhatsApp groups. https://t.co/tMXQyvq91a

— Motherboard (@motherboard) February 21, 2020

Use WhatsApp regularly? Think v carefully about the group chat name you use. https://t.co/u3GG73viSI

— will geddes (@willgeddes) February 22, 2020

Bad news.https://t.co/GTS9rcy457

The app is known for child abuse.https://t.co/HQYjGiCFTN

— ?Fighting for a Better World (@Antihate10) February 21, 2020

Google is indexing WhatsApp group chat links, making even private groups discoverable - The Verge https://t.co/bnqJ03ydxw

— Evan Kirstel (@evankirstel) February 22, 2020

Google is indexing WhatsApp group chat links, making even private groups discoverable https://t.co/XNm38Oab7a pic.twitter.com/Ypd0y7YCH4

— The Verge (@verge) February 22, 2020

#Google is indexing #WhatsApp group chat links, making private groups discoverable.

Motherboard found private groups using specific Google searches (& the results included a lot of porn-sharing groups)
& access to all of the participants & their phone no. https://t.co/uZBHIQbLch

— Michelle Murray (@MichelleMckM) February 22, 2020

Google is indexing #WhatsApp group chat links, making even private groups discoverable https://t.co/Ez7WhCu8Jc #seo #DigitalMarketing #dataprivacy pic.twitter.com/Y06nSvGGSQ

— Glen Gilmore (@GlenGilmore) February 22, 2020

Private WhatsApp chats easily found through Google. And Facebook knew it.#privacy #security #cybersecurity #data #dataprivacy #dataprotection #chat #WhatsApp #Facebook #flaw #vulnerability #Google #search #GDPR #CCPA https://t.co/ZMuswMVOwn

— ɦօռɛʏքօȶ (@zMrDevJ) February 22, 2020

Private WhatsApp chats easily found through Google. Facebook was alerted to this, but didn't do anythinghttps://t.co/EuJ690s75j

— Atul Karmarkar (@atulkarmarkar) February 22, 2020

Your private #WhatsApp chat might be easily discoverable with a Google search https://t.co/BLKJPakjYB

— Shane Fogle (@fogle_shane) February 21, 2020