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WA Me Settings: The Link Causing WhatsApp Errors

WhatsApp (WA) users are currently buzzing about a chat format in the form of a link that can cause the application to crash and force close.
"The WA Me Settings link is currently making waves as it can cause WhatsApp application errors and force it to close. (KOMPAS.com/Zulfikar Hardiansyah)"
"The WA Me Settings link is currently making waves as it can cause WhatsApp application errors and force it to close. (KOMPAS.com/Zulfikar Hardiansyah)"


WhatsApp (WA) users are currently buzzing about a chat format in the form of a link that can cause the application to crash and force close. This link is none other than "WA Me Settings." Specifically, the WA Me Settings link has the composition "wa.me/settings." Just as users have been discussing, KompasTekno's experiments have shown that the WhatsApp application will automatically close when opening a chat room containing the link wa.me/settings.


Upon closing, a message appeared on the phone's "Home" screen stating that there was a bug in the application and recommending the deletion of WhatsApp storage, as shown in the image below.


Based on the experiments conducted, WhatsApp errors due to WA Me Settings tend to occur in the beta and public versions of the WhatsApp application on Android-based phones. However, WhatsApp on iPhone, WhatsApp Web, and WhatsApp Desktop are not affected. So, what is wa.me/settings that has caused a stir among users? Why does WA Me Settings cause WhatsApp errors? If you're interested in finding out more, continue reading the explanation below.


Understanding wa.me/settings

Before delving into the causes, let's first understand the wa.me/settings link. It is important to note that "wa.me" is not an unfamiliar link for users who have been using WhatsApp for a long time. The "wa.me" link is usually used to send chat messages to a user's account without having to save their phone number. The "wa.me" link can direct users to open a WhatsApp chat room with a specific contact automatically. To perform this action, the "wa.me" link is usually followed by a forward slash ("/") and the phone number of the desired account to be contacted. For example, "wa.me/62123412341234". When the "wa.me" link and the phone number are opened, the user will be directly redirected to the chat room of the account associated with that phone number. This example represents a commonly used scheme for utilizing the "wa.me" link.


On the other hand, wa.me/settings is not intended to open a chat room with a specific contact like the common usage scheme mentioned above. This is where the cause of WA Me Settings causing WhatsApp errors lies.


The Causes of WA Me Settings Causing WhatsApp Errors

Afif Hidayatullah, an independent cybersecurity researcher and bug hunter, stated that there might be a bug in WhatsApp, causing the application to crash when opening a chat room containing the link wa.me/settings. "Regarding why only stable/beta versions of WhatsApp on Android phones are affected, it's likely because the bug only exists in those versions," said Afif in a message to KompasTekno on Monday afternoon (29/5/2023). Apart from the bug, Afif mentioned that WhatsApp errors caused by WA Me Settings are also suspected to occur due to issues with the Android System WebView. WebView is a pre-installed Android application that allows developers to display web pages within an app. "Generally, when we send a link, WhatsApp will render it using WebView," explained Afif. Errors can occur when the WebView in WhatsApp fails to load the request to open the wa.me/settings link. Afif further explained that the link wa.me/settings follows a flow that is not in line with its target. The link is intended to share a WhatsApp account and then proceed to open the "settings" path within the WhatsApp application. Ideally, as explained above, the "wa.me" link is intended to share an account and open a chat room, not "settings." "This (targeting the link wa.me/settings) causes WebView to become confused in displaying the content, resulting in a failure to process the display. It's impossible to display the settings menu within


 a chat room," said Afif. It is this confusion and failure of WebView to load the wa.me/settings link that ultimately causes the WhatsApp application to crash.


How to Resolve WhatsApp Errors Caused by WA Me Settings

Afif suggests that WhatsApp errors caused by WA Me Settings can be resolved quite simply. Users only need to delete the "wa.me/settings" message in their WhatsApp chat rooms, whether it's a personal chat or a group chat. WhatsApp users on Android phones can delete messages via WhatsApp Web or Desktop. After deletion, users can open chat rooms as usual.


For more information on how to resolve WhatsApp errors caused by the "wa.me/settings" chat, refer to the article "WhatsApp Errors Due to Chat "WA Me Settings": How to Fix Them."

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