Digital Privacy: A Myth or Reality..?
Introduction
Since the arrival of the new policy of Whatsapp on January 4, 2021, a new uproar has been initiated in the entire internet world regarding privacy. Migration and boycotts are echoing everywhere. Some are discussing the security of the Signal app, while some are not tired of enumerating the features of Telegram. Does WhatsApp really deserve this boycott? Do we really have the right to make a ruckus on the issue of privacy now?
Boycotting WhatsApp is illogical, as we have no such thing as privacy. WhatsApp’s new policy says that it will share your Registration Information, System Information, IP Address, and Business Chats with its parent company.
But here we have to keep in mind that whether we use WhatsApp or not, it will not make any big difference to our data privacy, because all our data is reaching Facebook through WhatsApp since 2016. And anyway we will save 10% of our privacy by boycotting WhatsApp, so what about the remaining 90% which other companies have already auctioned.
“In the coming days, 20 things will completely disappear from our lives. The first one is Privacy, and the rest 19 are not so important to discuss….” — Fazal Ahmad
Why don’t we care about privacy when we accept [the policy of] a website without reading its privacy policy? Why don’t we care about privacy when we give every permission asked for an app without thinking about it? Why do we not care about privacy when we install Fraud Earning Applications to earn 2–2 rupees, and the extent is reached when we also trap [through refer & earn] our friends. Where did our concern about privacy go when the data of the Aadhaar card of about 110 Crores people [of India] was put up for exhibition in 2018 for just Rs. 500? How many of us boycotted the Aadhaar card?
If we are going to Telegram in fear of WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, then we are making a big mistake, because every illegal thing happens on Telegram, which we can not even imagine. Telegram also has a drawback in that it does not provide by-default end-to-end encryptions like WhatsApp. While some people are not tired of praising the security of the Signal App, it is true that at present there is no threat to our privacy in Signal App. But for how long? Because policies are made to change. As we already know that Signal is a free & open-source messaging application that is running on a donation only, and the founders of the Signal app also have no intention of earning money from this app in the future.
But here we have to understand that nothing is free in this world, which means if we are using any service for free, then we will have to pay the price for it in some form or the other.
“Nothing is free. Everything has to be paid for. For every profit in one thing, payment in some other thing. For every life, a death. Even your music, of which we have heard so much, had to be paid for. Your wife was the payment for your music. Hell is now satisfied.” — Ted Hughes (English Poet)
In an article published on March 7, 2017, WikiLeaks revealed that the CIA has tools that can hack every social media platform, including Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Signal App.
Facebook Business Model
Do you know that Facebook earns about 2700 rupees [around 36 US Dollar] in 1 year from each of its users?
Here, the question arises that how much money do we spend to use Facebook? Now, because we are not spending even 1 rupee from our pocket then, how is Facebook earning so much?
“if you’re not paying for the Product, you are the Product.” — Unknown
Meaning, if you are using any service for free then, its cost will be paid as your personal data. Advertising is the primary source of income for Facebook, Google, Twitter, YouTube, and all social media platforms. Social media generally uses two types of marketing, the first of which is Mass Marketing and the second is Targeted Marketing.
Mass Marketing: In this type of marketing, the same ad is shown to users with different preferences, for example, pamphlets, TV Ads, Door-to-Door Marketing, Public Banners, etc. This type of ad method is much expensive and old also.
Let’s understand this with an example: Ads of Fairness Creams running on TV are only for Females, in the same way, Ads of Shaving cream are only for Males. But in compulsion, companies have to show their ad to both the people (Males & Female).
Targeted Marketing: This type of marketing is the most prominent and preferred way of marketing in today’s era. In this type of marketing, the age, behavior, interest, city, gender, hobbies, qualification, etc. of the user are targeted. Here, Ads of Fairness Creams can be shown only to Females, and if the company wants, they can use Gender [filter] as well as other tools, such as this Cream Ad can be visible to only those Females who are 15–40 years old.
Another good example of targeted marketing is that, when we search for a product (mobile phones, shoes, etc.) in our web browser, after some time when we open our social media platform, we will see ads of the same product. Facebook or other social media platforms run ads on their platforms by taking money from these companies, and this is the main source of earning for these social media platforms.
WhatsApp’s New Privacy Policy
For almost six years, Facebook has been providing free service from its purchased messaging application, Whatsapp, but on 4 January 2021, Whatsapp put its users in trouble by bringing a new policy. Since then, the process of a boycott of Whatsapp started, and Whatsapp lost millions of its users in a few days.
WhatsApp was created in February 2009 by Brian Acton as an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, and Acton said he would keep WhatsApp’s service free for the first year and then charge its user $1 per year. But, in the year 2014, Facebook bought Whatsapp for $ 19.3 billion (about 7 thousand crores), which is one of the most expensive deals in the internet world. What do you think Facebook spent thousands of crores to do social service?
But here comes the thing that what will be the benefit to Facebook from this new policy of Whatsapp? Let us understand this with an example. Suppose you chat with your friend (or someone else) on Whatsapp like this:
‘Is Oneplus 7T a good phone?’
‘Let’s go on a Goa trip.’
‘Dad, I want Nike shoes.’
Out of the above three examples, Facebook will target the main keywords and show you Facebook Ads related to that. Oneplus 7T, Goa Trip, and Nike Shoes are the main keywords. Although, Whatsapp says that it will only share Business Chats with its parent company Facebook. But this is not entirely true because Whatsapp is already targeting keywords of Personal Chats as well.
Whatsapp Alternatives
Ever since the boycott of Whatsapp started, there has been an earthquake of migration, and everyone is looking for their new social base. Two names remain the subject of discussion everywhere, the first of which is the dark web’s younger brother Telegram, and the second is the So-Called secure messaging app, Signal.
By relating Telegram to the dark web, I meant that every illegal thing that happens on the dark web happens on Telegram. Telegram is a hotbed of terrorist activities, drug dealing, cryptocurrency, child abuse, adult content, etc.
Telegram also does not live up to the matter of data privacy of the people. On 2 August 2016, hackers hacked the data of 15 million Telegram users. On 20 March 2020 also the data of about 42 million Iranian users were exposed. According to a Cointelegraph report, in June 2020, the data of millions of Telegram users was leaked on the darknet, which included the user IDs of Telegram users and their phone numbers. There is also a drawback in the Telegram app that it does not provide by-default end-to-end encryption, for this we get a separate Secret Chat option.
Telegram app, which has been providing free service for almost 8 years, is now going to monetize itself. Telegram will also launch a subscription service, after which Telegram users will get many more features [as in YouTube Premium] along with an ads-free interface. According to Telegram founder Pavel Durov, “Telegram will not use the private data of its users for targeted marketing.” Now let’s see how long.
Signal App is a free & open-source messaging app started by Brian Acton. Yes, this is the same Brian Acton who made Whatsapp. The founders of the Signal app have no intention of monetizing the Signal app in the future, which means that it will continue to run as long as the Signal app continues to receive donations.
It may also happen that in future Signal App will also bring its subscription service. Subscription service will be better, instead of donation. What I mean to say is that political parties are also non-profitable, and run on donations. But their interest is not on the side of the voters but on the side of big donors. By the way, according to the Signal app, it is almost impossible to hack it. But here you have to understand that Israel’s Digital Intelligence Company, Callebrite has already done the post-mortem of the security of Signal App.
Google: The Tech Giant
Those who are questioning the monopoly of Whatsapp, what will they say about Google? If I say that Google knows 100 times more about us than we do, it would not be a surprise. Google is involved in our digital life in the same way as the nerves in our body. Where do we go, how often we go, how much time we spend there, what days we go, how long does it take us to get there, and the distance we cover to get there; Google is aware of all these things.
In real terms, Google’s security is more important than any other social media platform, but it is already on hold. From the very beginning, there has been no good synergy between the privacy of Google and its users. We know, this thing that only by hacking our Gmail account, our YouTube, App Store, and even the entire Android system can be hacked, because all these are interconnected.
If we talk about the leak of the Google account, then it is not a matter of air, but it has happened before. In September 2014, data of nearly five million people were found on a bitcoin forum. In the year 2018, the data of about 5 lakh Google Plus users was leaked, after which, in April 2019, Google closed its Google Plus service forever. Similarly, in October 2018, the data of about 50 million Google Plus users was leaked. In December 2020, due to a technical problem, all the services of Google were shut down for about 40 minutes. After which, Google had informed its 150 million users that there could be a data breach.
Aadhaar Card: The Biggest Blunder
If we think that some other data is more important than our fingerprints & iris, then we need to think 100 times. In today’s era, it seems almost impossible [in India] to imagine life without an Aadhar card because everything from our ration card to gas cylinder, from our bank account to our mobile number, is linked with it.
It is okay for non-Indians to boycott WhatsApp for their privacy, but Indians? Those who have already handed over their horoscope in the hands of the government.
Keyloggers: When keyboard becomes Enemy
Have you ever noticed that there is always a Virtual Keyboard available on the banking website?
The virtual keyboard is displayed on your display, with the help of which we can protect our ID and password to a great extent because hackers can trace the data typed from our default keyboard with the help of Keyloggers. After which they will get our ID and password, the result of which will be that in a few moments our bank account will be completely empty.
Some Myths about Data Privacy
- VPN enhances our privacy: We have already understood this thing that nothing is free in this world, which means that if we use a free VPN, then we will have to pay for it, and that price can also be our personal data. Generally, VPN users, consider their privacy to be secure and share everything openly. This is where the whole game starts as all our data is stored in the VPN. Paid VPNs can also take care of your privacy until they fall in love with our data. You will be surprised to know that more than half of the top VPNs are from China.
- We can hide our data by using Incognito Mode in the browser: Incognito Mode only prevents our browser from collecting cookies. Even after using Incognito Mode, websites can collect our IP address, etc.
- If our mobile is offline then it’s safe: We think that if we keep a distance from the internet then our data is safe, and hacking can happen only online, and if we stay offline then no one can hack our data. Correct? Of course not. Viruses can also travel in our physical data storage, whether we are connected to the Internet or not.
- Clearing Browsing History is a solution: By deleting browsing history, our history is cleared only from our system, but cookies, etc., remain saved in our system. And we can delete our browsing history from our web browser but from their servers? Read this article for more information.
Solutions
As we already know, it is possible to hack everything that is on the internet. If we are sharing our personal information on any so-called secure messaging app, then it is our big mistake. If we want digital privacy, then we have to leave the internet, it may sound strange but this is the only way to keep our privacy secure. In today’s digital age it is almost impossible to stay away from the internet. Now because the space from the Internet is not possible, then we can protect our privacy to a great extent by following some of the points mentioned below.
- Use Secure Password: Although a secure password cannot protect our data from being hacked, by using a strong password, we can protect our privacy to a great extent. And if your service provider provides Two-Factor Authentication, then feel free to turn it on.
- Recheck your Mobile App Permissions: It’s the habit of almost all of us that we accept every application permission without paying attention to which permissions the application is asking for. You will be surprised to know that mobile apps like Flashlight on Play Store also ask permission for your contacts, camera, and mic. Now, whenever you install an app, first take stock of its requested permission. Also, go to the mobile settings and check the permissions of the already installed applications, and if you find any blunder in the permissions of any app, then uninstall it immediately.
- Stay Away from Public Wi-Fi: Most public Wi-Fi isn’t encrypted, meaning everything on our phones can be tracked using that WiFi. Even our sensitive data can be leaked, including login ID, password, and debit & credit card information.
- Use a Paid VPN: As we already know that by using a VPN, our data is safe as long as the owner of that VPN company has the will. Still, we can use a trusted VPN to maintain our privacy. Keep this thing in mind that refrain from using free VPN.
- Use Incognito or Private mode: By turning on Incognito Mode, we do not get a license for security, but Incognito Mode is effective in protecting our privacy a bit while surfing on a public computer.
- Use Multiple Search Engine (or Web Browser): This thing may seem weird to some people, but it can be a better way to protect our privacy to some extent. By using 2 or 3 search engines, our history will be divided into different search engines, so that no search engine can properly track our activity.
- Cover your Phone Camera with a piece of tape: If possible, tape the camera on both sides of your phone, and do not remove the tape without needing the camera. It may sound strange to many people, but, indeed, your camera and mic will not listen to your instructions. In other words, without your permission, your camera can see you, and your mic can hear you. Some people will not digest this thing, but it is true because such cases have come up before.
- Use Multiple apps to send sensitive Data: By the way, think ten times before sending sensitive data over the Internet, and take this step only if you do not find any other option. We can’t completely secure the data we send using multiple apps, but this trick is effective in keeping our sensitive data safe to a little bit. That is to say, if you are sending your debit or credit card details to someone, then send it from at least two platforms, half the details from the first app and the rest from the second app. Note: the parent company of both these apps should not be the same. For example, Meta [Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook].
- Use Multiple Email Accounts: As we have already understood that if our Gmail account gets hacked, then the question arises about the security of almost every service associated with Google. So it’s better that you use Google Mail as well as another mail service [like Outlook, HubSpot, Yahoo Mail, etc.] Also, don’t register with the same email account on every website.
- Spend the least time on social media: Although social media is connecting us with every corner of the world, on other hand, it is also taking us away from our natural life. According to psychologists, social media is the primary cause of increasing depression among people in today’s era. So it is better that we need to spend more and more time in our natural life.
Final Words
You should remove the word privacy from your dictionary before turning on the Internet. If you’re using the internet, let’s say you’ve already been hacked, it’s scary but true. If our privacy is threatened by anything, then it is Google and Aadhar cards. We should have raised our voice here, but now it’s too late.
Note: Originally published at www.virusism.xyz on 16th Jan 2021.
