WhatsApp has stated that there is a lot of misinformation about an update in terms of service and reassured its users of their continued privacy on the app.
The new privacy term on Whatsapp sparked criticism as users outside Europe who do not accept the new conditions before February 8 will be cut off from the messaging app.
Many users flocked to Telegram and Signal over the concern regarding an option to use WhatsApp to message businesses, Facebook executive Adam Mosseri, who heads Instagram.
“The policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way,” Mosseri said.
The update regards how merchants using WhatsApp to chat with customers can share data with Facebook, using the information for targeting ads, according to the social network.
“We can’t see your private messages or hear your calls, and neither can Facebook,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.
“We don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging or calling. We can’t see your shared location and neither can Facebook.”
According to WhatsApp, location data, along with message contents, is encrypted end-to-end.
“We’re giving businesses the option to use secure hosting services from Facebook to manage WhatsApp chats with their customers, answer questions, and send helpful information like purchase receipts,” WhatsApp said in the post.
“Whether you communicate with a business by phone, email, or WhatsApp, it can see what you’re saying and may use that information for its marketing purposes, which may include advertising on Facebook.”
The updated privacy policy requires users to “agree” to share data it collects about you such as your phone number and location with Facebook by Feb. 8 or else lose access to their accounts.
This data will be shared with the broader Facebook network, such as Instagram and Messenger, and applies regardless of whether you have accounts or profiles there.
The option to share data with Facebook has existed on the app for years, but up until now, it was only an option.
The terms now clearly state that “WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, the other Facebook companies. We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate” and market services.
Encrypted messaging app Telegram has seen user ranks surge on the heels of the WhatsApp service terms announcement, said its Russia-born founder Pavel Durov.
Durov, 36, said on his Telegram channel Tuesday that the app had over 500 million monthly active users in the first weeks of January and “25 million new users joined Telegram in the last 72 hours alone.
“People no longer want to exchange their privacy for free services,” Durov said without directly referring to the rival app.
Encrypted messaging app Signal has also seen a huge surge in demand, helped by a tweeted recommendation by renowned serial entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Telegram is a popular social media platform in many countries, particularly in the former Soviet Union and Iran, and is used both for private communications and sharing information and news.
Durov said Telegram has become a “refuge” for those seeking a private and secure communications platform and assured new users that his team “takes this responsibility very seriously.”
Telegram was founded in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, who also founded Russia’s social media network VKontakte.
Telegram refuses to cooperate with authorities and hand over encryption keys, which resulted in its ban in several countries, including Russia.
Last year, Russia announced that it would lift its ban on the messenger app after more than two years of unsuccessful attempts to block it.
Source: Sahara Reporters
