- WhatsApp is changing its terms of service to force users to share personal data, including phone numbers and locations, with its parent company, Facebook.
- Some critics, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have suggested that users go to the Signal and Telegram encrypted messaging programs.
- A WhatsApp representative told Ars Technica the change was to enable businesses to store WhatsApp conversations using Facebook infrastructure.
- The messaging app sells itself as a privacy-oriented service.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging app that sells itself as a privacy-oriented service, will start forcing users to share personal data with Facebook, its parent company.
In an announcement sent to users on Wednesday, WhatsApp said users will have to agree to collect Facebook and its affiliates 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 required users to delete their WhatsApp accounts and switch to smaller encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Telegram.
“Signal and Telegram are now better alternatives if you’re concerned about your privacy,” tweeted Mike Butcher, editor of TechCrunch. He shared comparisons with the data that WhatsApp collects versus what Signal and Telegram collect.
—Mike Butcher (@mikebutcher) 7 January 2021
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was among those who recommended users switching services. tweet, “Use signal.”
Nine hours earlier, Musk appeared to have criticized Facebook via a sardonic meme as being responsible for the rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, and in 2016, it gave users a one-time chance to choose to share app data with Facebook.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told Ars Technica the change is to enable businesses to store WhatsApp chat using the broader Facebook infrastructure.
A WhatsApp spokesperson did not make clear why the platform decided to make the change, but added that it would not affect users in the EU and the UK.
“There are no changes to the practice of WhatsApp for data sharing in the European region (including the UK) due to the updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. To avoid any doubt, it is still the case that WhatsApp is not the WhatsApp “User of the European region does not share data with Facebook for the purpose that Facebook uses this data to improve its products or advertisements,” the spokesman said.
WhatsApp founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum left the company in 2017 and 2018. Acton spoke about his departure, which followed the decision to launch WhatsApp ads, and asked people to ‘remove Facebook’.
Koum’s departure was also surrounded by reports that he had clashed with management over the company’s approach to user privacy on WhatsApp.