 |
| WhatsApp is trying to contain the impact of updating its privacy policy |
WhatsApp has released a new Q&A page on its website that outlines its position on user privacy in response to widespread opposition to an upcoming privacy policy update.
The main problem is related to the data exchange process between WhatsApp and Facebook. Many users are concerned that the updated Privacy Policy, which went into effect on February 8th, requires that sensitive information be shared with Facebook.
The update has nothing to do with customer chats or account details, but it is intended to explain how companies using WhatsApp for customer service can save their chat logs via Facebook servers.
The company believes this should be disclosed in its privacy policy, and after reviewing upcoming changes in business talks in October, the company is now doing so.
However, the wave of disinformation on social media platforms based on Facebook's poor privacy and bad reputation has masked changes in the various terms of the service contract and sparked strong opposition. Into WhatsApp, causing users to flee to competitors such as: Telegram and Signals.
(Elon Musk) Tesla CEO Elon Musk got into the fight and suggested on Twitter that his (42 million number) followers use Signal.
As the controversy mounts, Signal has become one of the most downloaded apps for Android and iOS, and the app's new user registration verification system crashes frequently under pressure. .
More than 25 million new users registered on the Telegram platform in the last 72 hours.
WhatsApp executives and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri (Adam Mosseri) are working hard to solve the problem.
The company wrote on the new FAQ page: We are completely confident that the updated policy will not harm the privacy of your emails with friends or family in any way. Instead, this update contains optional transactional changes that provide more transparency about how data is collected and used.
In the FAQ, he also confirmed that there is no new user reading the user's message log or listening to their calls, including WhatsApp or Facebook, nor does he share any location or contact information with them via Facebook.
Will Cathcart, President of WhatsApp, said that due to the end-to-end encryption, we cannot see your conversations or private calls. We are committed to using and protecting this technology around the world.
He added: The most important thing for us is that this update describes business communication and does not change the practice of sharing WhatsApp data with Facebook, nor does it affect the way people communicate with their friends or family members all over the world. .
The irony is that data sharing that WhatsApp users want to avoid occurs with the vast majority of users who use messaging systems.
Two years after Facebook bought the platform, the company only allowed users to deactivate data exchange with Facebook for a short time in 2016.
WhatsApp has shared certain account information, phone numbers and account names with Facebook for targeted advertising and other purposes, for new subscribers and users who have not yet chosen to share the data manually.
If the privacy policy changes, then the language of exchanging data with Facebook has also changed, leading many people to believe that the new mandatory data exchange is a new and inevitable change, even if that change does happen. Produced all the time.
WhatsApp's new privacy policy states: As part of the Facebook corporate family, WhatsApp receives information from these corporate groups and shares it with them. We may use the information that we receive from you, and you can use the information that is shared with you. Support in operating, providing, improving, understanding and personalizing services. Support and sales.
The entire debate may be attributed to users misreading confusing media reports, jumping directly to conclusions, and then engaging in panic-raising across social media platforms.
And Facebook must deal with the fact that distrust of WhatsApp is directly linked to years of disingenuous privacy pledges from Facebook and increasingly complex terms of service agreements, which no average user can reasonably understand.