Whatsapp Forcing Users to Share Data with Facebook

WhatsApp will soon start sharing your data with Facebook whether you like it or not. In light of that, many people are searching for WhatsApp alternatives with deeper focuses on privacy and security. Here are two recommendations Signal and Telegram.  In an announcement sent to users on Wednesday, WhatsApp said users would have to agree to let Facebook and its subsidiaries collect WhatsApp data including users' phone numbers, contacts' phone numbers, locations, and more. If users do not agree by February 8, they will lose access. The move prompted calls for users to delete their WhatsApp accounts and switch to smaller encrypted messaging apps such as Signal and Telegram. "Signal and Telegram are now better alternatives if you are concerned about your privacy," the TechCrunch editor Mike Butcher tweeted. He shared comparisons of the data WhatsApp collects versus what Signal and Telegram collect.

Forbes writes The new terms and conditions also means that simply deleting the app will not prevent WhatsApp from retaining a user’s private data. To ensure the service no longer continues to do this, users must instead use the in-app feature for deleting their account.   Other data set to be shared with WhatsApp’s parent company includes “battery level, signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network, connection information (including phone number, mobile operator or ISP), language and time zone, IP address, device operations information, and identifiers (including identifiers unique to Facebook Company Products associated with the same device or account)." Those who don’t accept the revamped privacy policy by February 8 will no longer be able to use the app. The policy update is designed to “offer integrations across the Facebook Company Products”, which also includes Instagram and Messenger, according to WhatsApp.

A WhatsApp spokesperson also said that it comes as part of a previously disclosed move to allow businesses to store and manage WhatsApp chats using Facebook's infrastructure.

The policy notes that even after using this delete feature, some data will remain with the company, stating: “When you delete your account, it does not affect your information related to the groups you created or the information other users have relating to you, such as their copy of the messages you sent them.” The move comes a month after Apple started requiring iOS app makers, including WhatsApp, to detail the information they collect from users. According to the App Store, WhatsApp reserves the right to collect: purchases, financial information, location, contacts, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics. WhatsApp users are now being advised to download more secure messaging apps; Elon Musk has urged users to switch to Signal, while Microsoft has told users to download Skype - which “keeps your personal data private” - instead. 

 Business Insider reports Tesla CEO Elon Musk was among those who recommended users switch services, tweeting, "Use Signal." Nine hours earlier, Musk seemed to criticized Facebook, via a sardonic meme, as bearing responsibility for the rioters who attacked the US Capitol on Wednesday. Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, and in 2016 it gave users a one-time chance to opt out of sharing app data with Facebook. A WhatsApp spokeswoman told Ars Technica the change was to allow businesses to store WhatsApp chats using Facebook's broader infrastructure. A WhatsApp spokesman did not clarify why the platform decided to make the change but said it would not affect EU- and UK-based users. "There are no changes to WhatsApp's data sharing practices in the European region (including UK) arising from the updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. For the avoidance of any doubt, it is still the case that WhatsApp does not share European region WhatsApp user data with Facebook for the purpose of Facebook using this data to improve its products or advertisements," the spokesman said.

The WhatsApp founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum left the company in 2017 and 2018. Acton has spoken about his departure, which followed the decision to introduce ads to WhatsApp, and has called for people to "delete Facebook."