WhatsApp stepped in and banned the third-party client, WhatsApp Plus on Tuesday and is still yet to be accessible. The 24 hour ban is on a countdown in order to provide users time to get the official app, with reminder from the producer that their personal data is at risk when been handled by third parties such as WhatsApp Plus.
The popularity for the third-party client is derived from the fact that it comes bearing additional feature that the original one lacks. For example you can get new emoticons and themes that are otherwise unavailable in the original version of WhatsApp. The third party client, WhatsApp plus, makes use of the same servers as the original software, but is in violation of the company’s TOS (terms of service). To deal with this situation, WhatsApp banned access to the unofficial counterpart and suggested to its users to install the “clean” version that is found in the Google Play Store, if they want to continue using this service.
A statement can be found on the company’s FAQ page which details the reason for which WhatsApp Plus received the restrictions: “WhatsApp Plus is an application that was not developed by WhatsApp, nor is it authorized by WhatsApp. The developers of WhatsApp Plus have no relationship to WhatsApp, and we do not support WhatsApp Plus. Please be aware that WhatsApp Plus contains source code which WhatsApp cannot guarantee as safe and that your private information is potentially being passed to 3rd parties without your knowledge or authorization, …”
WhatsApp Plus had quite a nice grip over the WhatsApp crowd with its extended modules and add-ons. The forked version allowed users to customize the whole app (adjust contacts and chat screen to use other colors than the ones in the app logo, adjust the conversation, light notifications on new messages, 1000 theme options). On top of all that, WhatsApp plus permitted users to share files that were up to 50 MB, opposed to the original version which only allowed for 16 MB.
The ban on WhatsApp seems to unescapable. While WhatApp Plus users uninstalled the forked version and went with the official one, the ban still persisted as the 24 h clock was running. It is most likely that this procedure is meant to discourage further use of the app and remind users of the potential dangers that lurk within third-party, unofficial apps. Tell us in the comment section below how has this affected you!