Android phone users who have the Viber app have been issued warnings by security firms that there may be a bug in the popular chat application that allows hackers to bypass screen locks and take control of the phone. So how many people are at risk? 50 million, give or take.

This flaw in the app was discovered by Vietnamese security firm, Bkav. According to the firm, the flaw works differently depending on which Android device the user is using. The Viber app on Android phones allows users to talk and message for free to other Viber users, using VOIP protocol. What the security firm found was that when sending a pop-up message, the app allowed third party intruders to circumvent the lock screen that is used to prevent just that.

Head of Bkav’s secuirty division, Minh Duc said:

The way Viber handles to pop-up its messages on smartphones’ lock screen is unusual, resulting in its failure to control programming logic, causing the flaw to appear.

[Source: BBC News]