“Police have received a report of the existence of the WhatsApp group and are currently making enquiries regarding the credibility of the group. 'If students have been personally affected by the issue, they can find support at spokesperson from Devon and Cornwall Police also said: 'We would strongly encourage anyone with information about individuals engaged in any such discussions to come forward and support the University, to ensure our campus remains a safe and inclusive environment and so that enquires can be progressed. Unfortunately, because the program states it uses end-to-end encryption, it gives many users a sense of false security. However, the average user wouldn’t realize this based on the way that the app misleads the public. 'We are actively working with the Police to support their investigations and the University will take a zero-tolerance approach to anyone found participating in any related group chats (whether private or public), or engaging with the content in a way that could reasonably be foreseen to cause distress or emotional harm, whether intended or not. Most of WhatsApp chats are stored without encryption, which means that they aren’t necessarily private. 'There is no evidence that reports of these posts and purported related discussions are genuine, or that there is a genuine threat, but it is clear that the issue is causing distress to our community and we therefore want to make clear that we are taking this issue seriously.

'We are aware of a number of messages and social media posts circulating in relation to the abhorrent global TikTok “24 April Hoax” encouraging sexual violence.

Is whatsapp safe from police