Code Verify

Web-based editions of mobile apps such as WhatsApp do not go through the security verification protocols that are present on mobile phones and, therefore, are prone to various risks. In essence, cybercriminals might exploit this vulnerability to create a fake web-based version of an app created for spying purposes. A non-authentic version of an app might be difficult to detect and that is where Code Verify comes in.

This simple extension for Google Chrome adds a new layer of security to your browser when it comes to opening Javascript-based web apps such as WhatsApp Web. With the help of this add-on, you can check the authenticity of the WhatsApp client.

When active, Code Verify notifies you in case the version of WhatsApp Web is not authentic or has been tampered with in any way. How does it do that, you might ask? Just keep reading.

Well, this extension is created by META in collaboration with Cloudflare, a company that helps in delivering secure web content. Code Verify is designed to verify that all the users of WhatsApp Web access the same code, thus bringing the security protocols on mobile platforms to the web-based editions.

To be more specific, the extension compares the code accessed by your web version of WhatsApp with the source published on Cloudflare. Should there be any differences spotted, you are immediately alerted by Code Verify. The reference source is updated along with WhatsApp, so there should be no mistakes and errors.

The browser extension is completely independent of the WhatsApp client to eliminate all doubts. Although created for WhatsApp by META, this extension is open-source and, therefore, can be use by any other company to implement web binary transparency for their own apps, allowing their users to make sure that their web app is authentic.