Read messages from a specific WhatsApp chat. Returns messages with sender, text content, timestamp, and message ID. Use the message ID from results for whatsapp_react or reply_to in whatsapp_send_text. Powered by Message Store — persistent full history with full-text search and sender filtering. ...
AI agents call whatsapp_read_messages to retrieve information from Waha without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and queries message data from WhatsApp chats without modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. However, the severity is elevated from 'low' to 'medium' because accessing private WhatsApp messages—particularly in bulk from the full message history—represents a significant privacy and data exposure risk if misused by an agent without proper authorization.
From the tool's definition Tool name is 'whatsapp_read_messages' and description states it 'Read messages from a specific WhatsApp chat' and 'Returns messages with sender, text content, timestamp, and message ID.' This is explicitly a retrieval operation with no side effects.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Read messages from a specific WhatsApp chat. Returns messages with sender, text content, timestamp, and message ID. Use the message ID from results for whatsapp_react or reply_to in whatsapp_send_text. Powered by Message Store — persistent full history with full-text search and sender filtering. Args: - contactId: Phone digits for a person (. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Waha MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Waha MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for whatsapp_read_messages: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Waha. Nothing to install.
whatsapp_read_messages is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the whatsapp_read_messages rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for whatsapp_read_messages. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
whatsapp_read_messages is provided by the Waha MCP server (@marcos-heidemann/waha-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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