WhatsApp has responded to privacy concerns that surfaced during the app’s latest update. Users noticed the new update offered new integrations with Facebook, and as a result, it has caused many Whatsapp users to leave the platform for good.
The update forces users to agree to a new privacy policy which, unlike most previous privacy policy updates, is mandatory to continue using the app. The cause for concern arose when users noticed that agreeing to this privacy policy would mean Facebook would be able to access the user’s location data, IP addresses, phone number, battery level, and even the phone’s model and IMEI number.
This has led users to question the privacy of their messages. The company is now addressing this and more in a FAQ posted on its website. In the FAQ, WhatsApp states that their end-to-end encryption prohibits anyone in the company from seeing messages or listening in to calls. There are also no logs being kept, either. In addition to that, users will have the option to have their messages disappear after being sent.
As for its Facebook integration, WhatsApp says that it will not share contacts or location data with Facebook. WhatsApp Groups will also remain private and no information will be forwarded to Facebook to use for ads. This doesn’t apply to users who use Facebook’s e-commerce platform via WhatsApp, though. There’s an optional setting that allows WhatsApp to monitor shopping activity which will then trigger related ads on Facebook or Instagram. The company says, though, that it is completely transparent with the data it shares.
Use Signal
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
The clarification of the company’s Privacy Policy is a result of not just an uproar from wary users but also because Tesla’s Elon Musk recently tweeted to “Use Signal.
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