⚫ How The Black Point Message Crashes Android Apps

"_If you touch the👇black point then your whatsapp will hang_", says the message that's being sent around, and it's right. It's a text rendering bug, the same as many others -- which isn't interesting. But the characters it's using, Unicode RTL and LTR marks, are worth knowing about.

Thanks to everyone who suggested this subject!

(you can find contact details and social links there too)

[TomScottGo]

Three people emailed this to me today, so I figured I should talk about it now, rather than delay the video until Monday! The message is apparently going viral in India right now, so it's likely only a matter of time before it starts heading over to where the majority of my audience is...

[semicharmedkindofguy]

when he says "now we have a real black spot" a black spot starts floating in the river

[yoimosan]

But Tom, aren't you cold standing in that river?

[torresnunygmr]

Tom: *makes video for his audience*

His audience: look at the black bucket

[barrysteakfriessimp_real]

i like how the message has a stutter, its like its nervously asking you to "p-please t-t-touch here, , , " and it cracks me up

[Chris-lsdr]

can we all join together and talk about the black bucket floating gently down the river in the background at 0:16 i mean you cant make this up a video about a black dot with a black bucket in the river conspiracy theory

[nalingoel]

4:40 I love how the text is written right - to - left.

[edwardthecar]

0:11 that bucket couldn't have been a coincidence

[LiterallyVera]

you don't know Pain until you try to type both english and arabic in one line on Microsoft Word

[johncalvin]

The black spot is swimming up the river behind you ....

[Arkantolas]

river: "this is a bucket"
us: "dear god"
river: "there's more"
us: "noo!"

[bariodoesrandomstuff]

“Well, now we have a real black spot.”
black thing in the background: oh don’t mind if I

[FoxBlocksHere]

3:08 Shout out to the guy laughing in the background

[vxel]

I love how I’m watching this video 2 years later after this has definitely been fixed. Still enthralled.

[hayreddinbarbarossa]

That is the most perfectly timed floating object in the history of irony.

[Bubu]

It caused an endless loop of back and forth searching for the the next visible character, fyi. The code was just a simple "If character invisible, check next character", but 'next character' depended on whether it was left to right or right to left, so if you put left to right next to right to left next to left to right... the function determining which character you selected would get stuck in an endless loop of going back and forth, back and forth, until the app or OS crashed.

[xbjwtmr]

Invisible characters is how I got my name.

[brostrod]

Tom: nooo you cant just look at an item in the background that conveniently themes to the plot
Audience: hehe bucket go swish

[dodostarforce]

love the black spot floating in the sea in the background.

[DanielVerberne]

Incredible that you got through such a complex bit of to-camera without any faults or edits. You’re definitely a rare person, Tom.