As a third-party modified version of the software, WhatsApp GB has been downloaded over 250 million times on the world (according to Statista statistics in 2023). Its main functionality is provided through reverse engineering of the official client, e.g., enabling a single send of 1GB files (the original client was only 100MB) and over 5,000 types of custom theme templates. And allow users to log in three accounts simultaneously. This app enriches its features by injecting additional code modules, but this also makes its installation package size increase to 72MB, much larger than the original 45MB. Technical analysis also shows that WhatsApp GB’s message delay in delivery is 12.3% lower than that of the official version (137ms average vs. 156ms average), but its data encryption process is vulnerable – in 2022, the Brazilian Cybersecurity Center discovered that 23% of communication traffic wasn’t enabled with end-to-end encryption, which resulted in more than 800,000 users’ private data leakage.
App research firm App Annie reported that WhatsApp GB has 19% penetration among adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years in markets like India and Egypt. It is attracting mainly those who want individualized functions. It delivers an average of 45 messages every day, which is 28% more than that of mainstream users. But this application poses grave commercial risks: The Google Play Store downloads its variant versions more than 1,200 times daily. According to Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center, statistics show that 37% of WhatsApp GB installation packages include harmful code and are capable of stealing high-risk behavior such as bank verification text messages. Economically modeling, the developers get an advantage of in-built ad system with an eCPM of approximately $4.2 for every thousand views. With the addition of a pay model to access premium features on payment basis (with $3.99 monthly subscription), estimated annual revenue exceeds $80 million.
With respect to technical conformity, WhatsApp GB is in contravention of Article 5 of the GDPR of the EU, the principle of data minimization. By its act of forcibly reading out the IMEI code of the device, 98.6% of the users are subject to legal liability. In the clusters of forged servers confiscated by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority in 2023, over 9 million conversation records were stored unencrypted. It is also interesting to note that Meta has continued to augment its countermeasures. In Q1 of 2024, it blocked 1.9 million WhatsApp GB accounts, whose ban rate increased by 17% year-over-year. Despite the risks, user demand is still increasing: Sensor Tower data shows the average weekly download size through third-party app stores is still 480,000 copies, reflective of the paradox in the market for continued demand for better communication technology and security adherence.