The privacy risk that comes with syncing contacts to messenger apps

Syncing your phone's contacts to WhatsApp or Telegam can make it easier to find friends when you get started, but security experts say this comes with a significant risk. — Christin Klose/dpa

When getting started on a new messenger app, most of us will just download, upload our contacts and start chatting. This is a mistake, say researchers, who have found that this function can be exploited by attackers to access personal information from you and contacts.

Users of messaging apps unfortunately need to get into the habit of being sceptical of the default privacy settings, especially when syncing contacts to a new chat app.