Whatsapp is again in the news due to its new privacy policy update. Earlier this week, WhatsApp started rolling out in-app notifications to Android and iOS users revealing an update in its Terms of Service and privacy policy. This particular notification has sounded an alarm among users once again about the privacy of their information in the hands of the social media giant.
Whatsapp was started as an independent app that was later acquired by the social media giant Facebook. Whatsapp has always kept the user’s privacy as their first priority. But we all know that Facebook’s reputation is not very good when it comes to user privacy.
From the last five years, Facebook has been blamed for selling the user’s data. Following this WhatsApp was also blamed for selling the user’s data which was very much apparent when Jan Koum, a founder of the messaging app WhatsApp left facebook without any reason.
Also read: Top 20 Telegram Tricks You Should Know in 2020
After this policy update, Many users on Twitter have been coaxing one another into getting off WhatsApp and making a shift to other encrypted messengers like Signal and Telegram. Tesla, SpaceX and Boring Company CEO Elon Musk joined in the conversation too, asking people to leave WhatsApp. Late last night, he posted on Twitter, “Use Signal”.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1347165127036977153
https://twitter.com/DigitalAfzal/status/1347187792909008902
New WhatsApp privacy policy: all data will be shared with FB. This is a reminder that @signalapp is free and they collect next to nothing pic.twitter.com/XpE5nkCNL8
— Michael Weissbacher (@mweissbacher) January 7, 2021
#WhatsApp New privacy policy changes help them to collect " messaging, calling, Status, groups (including group name, group picture, group description), payments or business features; profile photo, "about" information, your last seen" . pic.twitter.com/CYiyvNm0lU
— Selvadurai Muthupachaiyappan (@selvaduraimuthu) January 5, 2021
Messaging app Signal has now also responded to the ongoing conversation about deleting WhatsApp.
https://twitter.com/signalapp/status/1347309781564813312
Signal has also shared how users can transfer their group chat from some other messaging app to Signal.
So what is this all fuss about WhatsApp privacy policy? We will try to cover each point that was mentioned in the privacy policy update.
Also read: Whatsapp Rival Telegram has rolled out End-to-End Encrypted Telegram Video Call Feature
Whatsapp Privacy Policy Update
First of all, there is a different privacy policy & terms of service for the European Union and the rest of the world. So as a non-European union user you will get this notification where you have to agree to the terms of service before the 8th of Feb to continue your WhatsApp account.
So WhatsApp is going to share all the relevant data to Facebook and Facebook can legally use your data. So let us understand what data are collected by Whatsapp.
What data is collected by WhatsApp
- Device And Connection Information: Whatsapp collects device and connection-specific information when you install, access, or use our Services. This includes information such as hardware model, operating system information, battery level, signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network, connection information, language and time zone, IP address, device operations information, and identifiers.
- Location Information: Whatsapp can track you whenever your location is on. Even if you do not use their location-related features, they use IP addresses and other information like phone number area codes to estimate your general location.
- Transactions And Payments Data: Whatsapp payment feature is launched in Indian so technically they stores your transaction data also.
- Your Messages: Your messages are end-to-end encrypted for sure but there is something which you should keep in mind.
Undelivered Messages. If a message cannot be delivered immediately (for example, if the recipient is offline), they keep it in encrypted form on their servers for up to 30 days. If a message is still undelivered after 30 days, they delete it.
Media Forwarding. When a user forwards media within a message, they store that media temporarily in encrypted form on their servers to aid in the more efficient delivery of additional forwards. So your text messages will not become part of Facebook data under this policy.
Final Words
If you think that the data shared by you are breaching your privacy, which is in my case then you should opt for the two best alternatives i.e. Telegram & Signal messenger. The data which is now officially being shared is definitely going to affect you directly or indirectly. So you should make up your mind and take the right decision.
