An Android Case Study on Technical Anti-Forensic Challenges of WhatsApp Application

Abstract

Cyberbullying has become a serious concern in this Internet era with the availability of various communication technologies. While no one wishes to be a victim of cyberbullying, some of the electronic platforms, specifically Instant Messaging Applications (IMAs) such as WhatsApp, have created a safe haven for cyberbullying. As the use of WhatsApp application is globally increasing, it is extremely important to consider it being misused as a tool of cybercrime. This paper investigates some of the technical issues with WhatsApp application that could open the door to cybercrimes and pose anti-forensic challenges. In addition, we also highlight possible anti-forensic techniques for WhatsApp application through two hypothetical case scenarios. Moreover, we propose a validated solution to the ‘delete for everyone’ feature of WhatsApp by presenting a demo mobile application that recovers any deleted messages even after block status.