WhatsApp could access SMS without having permission to it

Question

I have not granted SMS permission to WhatsApp on my device HonorView10 running on EMUI9. Recently I changed the number registered with WhatsApp and it send the verification code to new number (the sim is on same device as it is dual SIM). WhatsApp read the SMS and completed the verification process. Is it possible in Android to read SMS without permission? Or it is bug in EMUI9? I am just curious.

Answer 1

WhatsApp could access SMS without having permission to it

I think whats app is using SMS Retriever API

SMS Retriever API

With the SMS Retriever API, you can perform SMS-based user verification in your Android app automatically, without requiring the user to manually type verification codes, and without requiring any extra app permissions. When you implement automatic SMS verification in your app, the verification flow looks like this