No matter what you do, there is a very high probability that you must be using WhatsApp very often in your daily life. But due to recent policy changes in WhatsApp, it has raised some serious privacy concerns.
According to the new policy, WhatsApp will be sharing the following user data with Facebook:
- user ID
- device ID
- purchase history
- advertising data
- phone number
- coarse location
- contacts
- email address
- crash data
- product integration
- payment information
- diagnostic data
- performance data
- product interaction
- customer support
- & other user data
This huge list might have scared you the same way it has scared other 2 billion active users around the world.
Discuss
So as a developer, what are your opinions on data trade which is going on among companies such as WhatsApp & Facebook?
And are you planning to ditch WhatsApp as well & move on to a better privacy-friendly service like Signal & Telegram?
Please share your thoughts in Discussions/Comments
Latest comments (51)
thank you for the post, at first i found whatsapp very boring then i found whatsapp mod version at heymods.net it is really smooth to perfect and till now i still can't leave it.
You can download the latest version of whatsapp at fouad mods whatsapp apk
Then you have to quit Instagram, messenger and Facebook
meh
After the previous Whatsapp update, I started to use Telegram. However, with this WA update I reconsidered and probably will switch to Signal instead. Reason? e2e encryption.
telegra.ph/Why-Isnt-Telegram-End-t...
twitter.com/FasidMpm/status/134925...
How dare twitter boycotted a sitting president of the United States. Twitter just crossed the line. Facebook has already crossed the line
yeah absolutely #boycott fb and twitter
Not even that fb even sells your private messages.
For more info
"Yes, they claim to encrypt all your messages but they are all stored on their servers and as part of the terms and conditions they (through FB) are allowed to sell it."
Source: quora.com/Does-WhatsApp-sell-our-d...
Another source theverge.com/2020/12/17/22180258/g...
Whatsapp is a privacy nightmare. You guys really need to look for alternatives.
I don't really care and it's practically impossible to move everyone over to a new app. I'm using these services for free in exchange for some information they use to show me ads, yeah whatever, do your thing. It's not like I'm chatting on Whatsapp about the next heist on the federal reserve lol.
I get your point, but don't forget they scan content for certain phrases, and we have no confidence that you wouldn't be remembered for writing "I'm chatting on Whatsapp about the ......... reserve" with the innocent parts filtered out.
When the time comes for you to be before the hanging' judge they can just declare they kept the phrase "for security purposes" but filtered and sanctimoniously discarded the rest for privacy compliance.
We of all people should know that, its what they infer, then store whether correct or not that is our concern.
yes for me i built my own chat application
The funny irony abt data privacy on this platforn...
Is that any of us could be the Dev coding the functions to sniff data 4m WhatsApo to Facebook...
Or any institution selling data on pretence of offerin a free application... :) :) :)
I ditched FB years ago (2013 I think) for this same reason, but like many have mentioned, I have to convenience people to jump with me.
I've been on Signal for sometime now (before it was cool, thanks Elon) and I've managed to get some family and friends to switch, but it's definitely going to be a challenge to get everyone to switch. In the meantime I have to rely on good old text messages.
I am sticking with Whatsapp. It has the same privacy policies as Telegram and Signal but it is a far superior app. Gathering and sharing users data is happening all over and has been going on for years. There is no way around it. That is why the app is free.
Once the native mobile story across iOS and Android is a little more fleshed out and a few upcoming UX adjustments are shipped, I really want to get my family on a Forem.
Although 2014 was already a good time, now is as good a time as any.
Even as a EU citizen, which should protect me from FB data abuse, this has gone too far for my liking.
I'm already forcing/encouraging my family to switch to Signal.
I'll likely keep WhatsApp around, but I'll try real hard to minimze its use.
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