Your favorite apps can betray you, thanks to a new Android trick that even fools smart users
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- Hackers use invisible Unicode to mislead Android to open dangerous links from reports
- The link looks normal, but Android secretly opens something else without warning or permission
- Even trusted apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram are vulnerable to this hidden report exploit
A security error in the Android reporting system can enable malignant actors to mislead users to open unintended links or to activate hidden app actions have warned experts.
Research from Io-no Claims that the error lies in how Android Certain Unicode signs pars within reports.
This creates a mismatch between what users see and what the system processes when the “open link” suggestion appears.
What you see is not always what you get
The problem stems from the use of invisible or special Unicode signs embedded in URLs.
If included in a message, these signs can ensure that Android interprets the visible text and the actual usable link differently.
For example, a report can be visibly displayed “Amazon.com, “but the underlying code actually opens” Zon.com “, with an inserted space character without Width.
The report is displayed as “AMA[]Zon.com, “Including the hidden character. The suggestion -engine, however, interprets that hidden character as a separator, so that it launches a completely different site.
In some cases, attackers can not only reduce users to websites, but also to deep links that communicate directly with apps.
The report showed how an apparently imperative shortened URL led to one WhatsApp Phone call.
To make attacks less detectable, malignant actors can use URL deficiencies and enclose the left in familiar text.
The error becomes particularly dangerous in combination with app -left or “deep links” that can activate behavior in silence, such as initiating messages, calls or opening internal app views without the intention of users.
Tests on devices such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Samsung Galaxy S25 and older Android versions revealed that this misconduct influences important apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Discord and Slack.
Custom apps were also used to bypass cartoon filtering of characters and to validate the attack in multiple scenarios.
Given the nature of this error, many standard defenses may fail. Even the Best antivirus solutions Maybe these exploits miss because they often do not have traditional malware downloads.
Instead, attackers manipulate onion behavior and exploit configurations of app -link. That is why there is a need for it Endpoint protection aidsProvide broader detection based on behavioral abnormalities.
For users who are at risk of theft of theft or app abuse, rely on Identity theft protection Services are crucial to check unauthorized activities and to protect exposed personal data.
Until a formal solution has been implemented, Android users must remain careful with reports and links, especially those from unknown sources or URL deficiencies.
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