it's very scary at this point because I use WhatsApp and the images are just downloaded without ones permission. However this monitoring private key stealers have a way of it's operations and some threads before have educated us on how to avoid them.
Adjust your media download settings from your WhatsApp to only download images when permitted.
I used whatsapp before when I was on Malaysia since its their go to app for socials but I didnt like it compared to messenger of facebook. It seems theres so much suspicious on their apps. Probably due to their unfiltered system. I believe this app is a Chinese Product if Im not mistaken.
Actuallt I prefer discord or telegram over this app.
WhatsApp does more security than telegram, i don't know much about Discord but i make use of WhatsApp and the options of securing yourselves from unsupported conversations is free unlike telegram that demands you to use their premium feature. If i don't give out my number, no once can add me up, message me even through groups, i set my restrictions too well.