WhatsApp Privacy Policy stirs controversy, Tesla CEO endorses Signal
Multiplatform messaging app, WhatsApp has stirred security concerns with its newly updated privacy policy announced earlier this week. In the terms of service and agreement, WhatsApp disclosed how the messaging platform intends to share user data with Facebook—its parent company.
The Privacy Policy which will take full effect next month, has expressly outlined how other Facebook company products which are also integrated with its services would receive information about what users share with them such as usage and log information, device and connection information, location information; and how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats.
In the Privacy Policy, WhatsApp explained: “We collect information about your activity on our Services, like service-related, diagnostic, and performance information. This includes information about your activity (including how you use our Services, your Services settings, how you interact with others using our Services (including when you interact with a business), and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities and interactions), log files, and diagnostic, crash, website, and performance logs and reports. This also includes information about when you registered to use our Services; the features you use like our messaging, calling, Status, groups (including group name, group picture, group description), payments or business features; profile photo, “about” information; whether you are online, when you last used our Services (your “last seen”); and when you last updated your “about” information.”
This information include private data collected by WhatsApp such as the user’s IP address and phone contact details; the update is designed to offer integrations across the Facebook Company Products which also include Instagram and Messenger.
Currently sitting at the top as the most used messaging app in the world, with about 2.5billions users, WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy took a ‘creepy’ turn as it further explains in the terms that deleting the app from a device will not prevent WhatsApp from retaining a user’s private data; users are required to use the in-app feature for deleting their account.
“When you delete your account, it does not affect your information related to the groups you created or the information other users have relating to you, such as their copy of the messages you sent them,” WhatsApp stated.
WhatsApp users criticized the company’s terms to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger together to provide a more coherent experience across its services; many disclosed their plans to move to rival messaging apps like Telegram and Signal.
Signal, a cross-platform encrypted messaging service saw a surge in its statistics after Tesla CEO, Elon Musk tweeted “Use Signal” to his 41 million followers on Thursday.
In 2018, WhatsApp co-founder, Brian Acton and Moxie Marlinspike announced the formation of the Signal Foundation, a not for profit organization to support, accelerate, and broaden Signal’s mission of making private communication accessible and ubiquitous. The foundation was launched with an initial $50 million in funding from Acton, who had left WhatsApp’s parent company—Facebook in September 2017.
WhatsApp has issued a deadline of February 8, 2021 for users to accept the new agreement in order to continue using the platform or risk their accounts being deleted.
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