It was only a matter of time: WhatsApp to start compulsory information sharing with Facebook

[Alexeygridnev1993]

I convinced all my friends and family members to download Telegram or Signal so that we can keep touch with them. Some of them also decided to delete Whatsapp and other FB apps, too. Come on, it's not a big thing to ask your mom and dad to download one more app which, functionally, provides the same service as Whatsapp

[AnirbanG007]

Summary

WhatsApp has shared multiple WhatsApp status messages this morning in response to the community backlash over the privacy policy updates.

 

In multiple status messages, WhatsApp clarifies it does not read or listen to private conversations, can't see shared location info and doesn't send you contact list to Facebook.

 

In summary, this comes as an urgent response from Facebook to curb the efflux of WhatsApp users to other platforms like Signal and Telegram.

 

My Thoughts

This clarification in the form of status messages was necessary as it goes to individuals and everyone can understand a bit clearly what's not being sent to Facebook. The post doesn't say what it actually does share, and it's always good to clarify things even if at a very late stage.

 

[Arika]

Regardless of whether or not they share information with facebook (now), it's still owned by facebook. The same thing was said about Oculus when it was acquired, now you require a FB account to use any oculus product, i wont be surprised at all if whatsapp goes down the same path.

[captain_to_fire]

One word: Signal

 

[AnirbanG007]

30 minutes ago, gabrielcarvfer said:

TL;DR: - Don't go away, we need your data.

Hahahaha, sweet sweet bills, man. Hard for 'em to resist.

[Yoinkerman]

So it records the messages then, I see

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

Too little too late. already switched to signal but its impossible to leave whatsapp at the same time when everyone's still on whatsapp here 

Edited January 17, 2021 by Rohith_Kumar_Sp

[AnirbanG007]

46 minutes ago, Rohith_Kumar_Sp said:

Too little too late. already switched to signal but its impossible to leave whatsapp at the same time when everyone's still on whatsapp here 

Exactly, all my friends are there and my university information groups are there too. I've been able to get 18 people to use Signal, but well. While it's impossible for me to leave whatsapp, I've been encouraging the people who are on Signal to just use Signal with me and reduce using Whatsapp.

[AnirbanG007]

4 hours ago, Yoinkerman said:

So it records the messages then, I see

The encrypted messages are stored in the Cloud service of your choice if you so choose. Point to be noted, if you're in iCloud, the messages can be accessed without a warrant. So...

 

Signal keeps backups on the phone itself, and backups are manual.

[LogicalDrm]

@AnirbanG007, your thread has been merged to previous news thread about same thing. There are two reasons. One is that this is just update to original story, no major difference. Second is that your thread didn't follow the set guidelines. It was missing reputable source. Screengrabs from app itself can't be counted as such. If you would have linked to announcement/news talking about this (there are such), the ruling might have been to lock instead.

[HanZie82]

21 hours ago, like_ooh_ahh said:

One word: Signal

 

A better word: Telegram

 

[Moonzy]

6 minutes ago, HanZie82 said:

A better word: Telegram

 

With Line you get sticker packs

[linuxChips2600]

Back when I saw the recording of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez directly interviewing Zuckerberg in Congress on the Cambridge Analytica sandal, after finishing watching it I decided from that point on I won't even consider working at or for Facebook (since I'm a computer science student myself right now) at least until Zuckerberg gets replaced by someone else with more integrity.  I know that this might make it more difficult for me to find a job, but I don't want to associate myself with this kind of behaviour in the slightest.
 

[HanZie82]

27 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

With Line you get sticker packs

Lol, in Telegram those are animated...
Jussayin.

 

But either are better then Whatsapp.

[captain_to_fire]

39 minutes ago, HanZie82 said:

A better word: Telegram

 

• Telegram chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default unlike Signal
• Telegram uses an untested and unproven encryption protocol MTProto. Signal on the other hand uses a protocol that is peer reviewed and tested [1] [2] [3]

[Mark Kaine]

On 1/8/2021 at 5:01 PM, Drama Lama said:

I‘m really surprised they didn’t already do that

They already did, if you read the info it was "one time opt out"...

 

(dunno if applicable in eu)

 

Edit: lol I didn't notice how old this topic is...

[SADS]

Saying things like "we can't see your messages or share your locations" might fool some people and give them a fake confidence that their data is private.

 

But what gets me is that you never see what they DO do with your data. You never see how they're linking things together to make that profile of you. There's so much going on in the background that is invisible to people.

 

On another note, i think i paid 99p for WA back in the day. I'd love it if having paid for the app then meant that i wasn't eligible for all this data mining crap.

I'd pay one-time to use this app if it meant that Zukker wasn't stalking me.