According to market research organization Statista in 2023, there are close to 2 billion users of instant messaging applications worldwide. Out of them, third-party modified version such as GB WhatsApp users, who download it, comprise about 8%, i.e., approximately 160 million users. Compared to the original WhatsApp, GB WhatsApp claims to offer enhanced user-controlled privacy features. For example, the support rate for hiding “online status” and “read receipt” is as high as 98%, while the official app only allows users to choose the hiding of “last online time” and cannot block the real-time status at all. A poll of Indonesian users shows that 34% of the users chose GB WhatsApp download mainly because of its “anti-message deletion” feature, which can maintain the content sent by not allowing the other party to retract. The success rate is almost 100%, and the effective duration of the official app’s retraction feature is only 7 minutes after sending.
Regarding data encryption, the official WhatsApp employs end-to-end encryption technology. The delay in transmitting the message is 0.5 seconds on average and the encryption key size is 256 bits. Though GB WhatsApp download is on the same lines, a Check Point cybersecurity report in 2021 found that Its client utilizes an unknown API interface, which may lead to weaknesses in encryption. The session may be hijacked by attackers in 30 seconds by spoofing identities. Furthermore, GB WhatsApp can personalize permission for privacy, such as limiting how many times a certain contact looks at their private updates (e.g., only once daily). The feature has failed the security examination of the Google Play Store and was shut down in 2022 due to data collection policy infringement, and users have been compelled to install it through unofficial means. There is a 12% higher probability of the installation package containing malware.
Functionally, the functional extension is maintained by GB WhatsApp download with the feature to log in on multiple devices simultaneously (up to 5 devices), and the speed of synchronization of messages is 40% greater than the official app. However, its peak server burden can be 1.8 times that of the official app, resulting in 72 hours of continuous service suspension for Brazilian users in 2020. Although GB WhatsApp offers an “incognito mode” to hide usage time (daily active time can be reduced to 60% of the official app), its number of AD tracking modules included in its code base is three times greater than that of the official app, and its user behavior data return rate is up to 15 times per hour, increasing the privacy leakage risk by 25%. Surveys conducted by the Dutch Consumers’ Association in 2023 indicated that the number of users who employed GB WhatsApp download to get spammed emails (17%) was significantly higher in comparison to those using the authentic app (5%).
However, GB WhatsApp download’s privacy measures are still the better option under some circumstances. For example, its “automatic reply robot” can be set to handle 300 messages in an hour, and the efficiency of response is 90% higher than manual processing. Its “Message Scheduled Sending” function allows users to set the error of sending time to no more than ±0.3 seconds. A study of Pakistani small business owners suggests that the customer response rate is increased by 22% if this feature has been utilized, but firms have to take the risk that their accounts may get suspended by Meta due to privacy compliance issues (which will happen approximately 7% of the time). Despite the controversy, market research firm Sensor Tower pointed out that the global installation volume of GB WhatsApp download still increased by 13% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, mainly from emerging markets such as Egypt and Mexico. Users generally believe that its “degree of privacy customization” is 40% higher than that of the official application.