What’s Up With WhatsApp’s New Privacy Policy?
WhatsApp released a controversial new privacy policy earlier this year that sent many users flocking to other messaging apps. Should you be concerned?
WhatsApp’s new privacy policy was scheduled to take effect from February 8, but has been postponed due to a global outcry against its changes. The update, centered around data sharing practices with WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook, had many users alarmed by its apparent privacy overreach. In response, WhatsApp delayed the implementation of its changes to May 15 while it further explained the changes.
What’s New
Like most privacy policies, WhatsApp’s privacy policy is left intentionally complicated. This has added to confusion over the update, sparking rumors that Facebook will be able to read private messages. Considering Facebook’s track record in privacy scandals, it is unsurprising that many users are concerned about this update.
WhatsApp denies such rumors and released an FAQ clarifying that the update is meant for its new business messaging feature. Facebook is providing a new “secure hosting service” for businesses to store and manage their WhatsApp chats with customers. Should businesses choose Facebook to manage their chats, Facebook will have access to the messages in those chats. Facebook announced that the content may be used for advertising.
“While Facebook will not automatically use messages to inform the ads that a user sees, as is always the case, businesses will be able to use chats they receive for their own marketing purposes, which may include advertising on Facebook.”
What’s Not New
Unfortunately, data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook is not new. In 2017, Facebook was fined $122 million from the European Union’s antitrust regulators for misleading information. During the purchase of WhatsApp in 2014, Facebook claimed that it was impossible to establish “reliable automated matching between Facebook users’ accounts and WhatsApp users’ accounts.”
However in 2016, WhatsApp announced that it would begin sharing data with Facebook. “But by coordinating more with Facebook, we’ll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp. And by connecting your phone number with Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them.”
Contrary to Facebook’s initial claim, this statement indicates that it is possible to link accounts from both companies.
Moreover, news of WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum quitting Facebook in 2018 due to privacy intrusions creates greater distrust in the company. Koum disagreed with Facebook about WhatsApp user privacy and Facebook’s intent to weaken encryption, which led to the eventual fallout.
Nonetheless, WhatsApp maintains that “this update does not expand [their] ability to share data with Facebook”.
“We will always protect your personal conversations with end-to-end encryption, so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see these private messages. It’s why we don’t keep logs of who everyone’s messaging or calling. We also can’t see your shared location and we don’t share your contacts with Facebook.”
What can you do?
WhatsApp is pushing back the deadline for users to review the changes to May 15. If you do not accept the update by then, you will still receive calls and notifications for a short time, but will not be able to read nor send messages through the app. After which, their policy pertaining to inactive accounts will apply.
Many users are flocking to apps such as Signal and Telegram, which are other viable messaging apps. If you are especially concerned about your privacy, Signal is an open-sourced application that provides end-to-end encryption of chats. That means that no one, but you and the person you are talking to, can read your conversation — not even Signal. Telegram, on the other hand, does not provide end-to-end encryption by default. Furthermore, its encrypted secret chats uses a custom encryption protocol that is not proven to be secure. Privacy enthusiasts hence gravitate towards using Signal.
If you do choose to stick with WhatsApp, contacting businesses through WhatsApp is an optional feature. You will be notified if you are communicating with a business account and can simply opt not to do so. Your conversations with friends and family nonetheless remain private — at least for now.
This story first appeared on https://theechozone.com/2021/03/18/all-you-need-to-know-about-whatsapps-new-privacy-policy/
