Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- If you send someone a shortened URL, it will cause a WhatsApp crash loop on Android.
- The URL is “wa.me/settings,” which would normally take you to the WhatsApp settings page.
- The crash loop will happen every time you open up the affected chat. Deleting that message is the only fix for now.
Since WhatsApp is the most popular messaging service globally, one can only imagine the number of URLs sent and received daily on the platform. One URL, though, appears to be wreaking havoc on the Android version of WhatsApp.
As first spotted by Brute Bee on Twitter and verified by Android Authority, sending the URL “wa.me/settings” causes a WhatsApp crash loop. It only appears to be a problem on the Android version of the app but does appear to affect both the consumer and business versions. The device we tested this on was running version 2.23.10.77, although other versions might also be affected.
Normally, “wa.me/settings” would link to WhatsApp’s settings. However, with this bug, it crashes the app completely. When it restarts, things work normally, but if you try to access the chat again, it will initiate the crash loop. This can be replicated over and over again. Thankfully, no other chats are affected, so you can avoid the crash loop by simply not opening that particular chat again.
To fix the problem, the easiest workaround is to use WhatsApp on the web — which is not affected by the bug — and delete the message with the URL. This will return things back to normal.
Hopefully, Meta will fix this WhatsApp crash loop soon. In the meantime, the previously mentioned workaround is your best fix if you find yourself affected.
