Are you curious about the inner workings of popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal? Look no further! This innovative project demonstrates how to track device activity patterns using Round-Trip Time (RTT) analysis. By measuring RTT, you can detect when a user is actively using their device, in standby mode, or offline.

The research behind this project, "Careless Whisper: Exploiting Silent Delivery Receipts to Monitor Users on Mobile Instant Messengers," by Gabriel K. Gegenhuber and colleagues at the University of Vienna & SBA Research, reveals a significant privacy vulnerability in WhatsApp and Signal.

What's Possible with RTT Analysis?

By measuring RTT, you can:

  • Detect when a user is actively using their device (low RTT)
  • Identify when the device is in standby or idle mode (higher RTT)
  • Potential location changes (mobile data vs. WiFi)
  • Track activity patterns over time

Security Implications: A Privacy Concern

This project demonstrates a significant privacy vulnerability in messaging apps that can be exploited for surveillance.

Getting Started with the Tracker

Clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/gommzystudio/device-activity-tracker.git

cd device-activity-tracker

npm install

Run the application using Docker:

docker compose up --build

The application will be available at:

  • Frontend: http://localhost:3000 (or your configured CLIENT_PORT)
  • Backend: http://localhost:3001 (or your configured BACKEND_PORT)

Terminal Mode

To start the tracker in terminal mode, run:

npm run start:server

npm run start:client

Open http://localhost:3000 and scan the QR code with WhatsApp. Then, enter the phone number to track (e.g., 491701234567).

Example Output

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