Whatsapp with that?
By Adam Casper
Whatsapp Privacy: Unpacking the Core Issues
Much has been said about Whatsapp’s new Privacy Policy when in truth, this is old news. Whatsapp has been sharing your data with Facebook since 2016 and it is important to note that none of your private conversations and media are being shared with Facebook, nor can they be seen by Whatsapp themself because of end-to-end encryption. However, information such as contact lists, location, app behavior including how frequently you are engaging with the App, can be shared.
Should you be concerned?
Slightly, and it is important to understand what data is being captured by all Apps listed on the App Store before downloading them, and thanks to updates made in iOS14, you can now see all App Privacy details as follows:
https://developer.apple.com/
Are alternatives such as Telegram and Signal any better?
Well for starters, neither are owned by Facebook – not yet at least, meaning your data is only available to their respective parent companies, but Telegram isn’t all that better in the sense that they also capture your contact info, contacts list, and user ID, whereas Signal only have access to your cell number. Each app can collect the following data from you:
Ultimately, the endless opportunities created by most Apps come at the cost of our data, and as a general rule of thumb, if the service is for free, then we are the product – so please be wary when making use of such tools.
