-snip - I know WhatsApp to download image automatically as long as one has data connection, how then can one avoid it being downloaded? it's very scary at this point because I use WhatsApp and the images are just downloaded without ones permission.
This is indeed a good question : anyone has a clue?
By default, WhatsApp download images automatically over cellular data or WiFi but you can disable this feature in
settings>
storage and data>
media auto download. You can disable all sorts of media (pictures, videos and audios) from being downloaded automatically but you can not disable voice messages from auto download as per WhatsApp policy.
I read somewhere where someone was boasting about sharing a malicious file with the name "salary increment structure" via WhatsApp so that people can be interested to open the file and that's how it could affect their devices and data. I'm always careful especially in general groups on WhatsApp and I don't rush to download anything shared unless I see others comment on the file shared before I download it.