This question has been asked quite a lot over the past few days and the straight forward answer would probably be: Yes, if you can live without it.
What did WhatsApp do to prompt this answer though? As we all know WhatsApp is owned by Facebook and in its latest privacy update told users outside the European Union (as the EU got laws against that) that they need to consent to the changes made or lose access to the service. Those changes include that WhatsApp now will share your private data with Facebook and its affiliates.
WhatsApp will drive clients to consent to its new security strategy within the following month (February 2021), or probably lose access to the application.
Consenting to the terms will imply that a client’s private information, including their telephone number, will be imparted to Facebook, which owns WhatsApp.
All clients should consent to the new terms by 8 February 2021, or probably lose admittance to their chats and contacts.
The update comes as an in-application notice, which clients can decide to overlook until the deadline arrives.
“By tapping Agree, you acknowledge the new terms, which produce results on February 8, 2021,” the notice states.
“After this date, you’ll need to acknowledge the new terms to keep utilizing WhatsApp. You can likewise visit the Help Center in the event that you would want to delete your record.”
The update is intended to “offer incorporations across the Facebook Company Products”, which likewise incorporates Instagram and Messenger.
“There are no progressions to WhatsApp’s information sharing practices in the European Union (counting UK) emerging from the refreshed Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. For the evasion of any uncertainty, it is as yet the situation that WhatsApp doesn’t share European area WhatsApp client information with Facebook with the end goal of Facebook utilizing this information to improve its items or ads,” the representative said.
Some WhatsApp clients reprimanded the new protection strategy via online media, with many saying they intended to move to an opponent messaging application like Telegram.
“This new WhatsApp security strategy update is CREEPY and we ought to be worried about it,” one client wrote on Twitter.
With around 2.5 billion clients around the world, WhatsApp is by a long shot the most famous informing application on the planet.
In any case, since it was procured by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion, it has confronted analysis for the manner in which it handles clients’ information.
A more seasoned form of WhatsApp’s protection strategy expressed: “Regard for your security is coded into our DNA. Since we began WhatsApp, we’ve sought to assemble our Services with a bunch of solid protection standards as a main priority.”
This line is not, at this point present in the most recent form.
The new arrangement likewise implies that just erasing the application from a gadget won’t keep WhatsApp from holding a client’s private information. To guarantee WhatsApp no longer keeps on doing this, clients must rather utilize the in-application include for erasing their record.
The arrangement takes note of that even in the wake of utilizing this erase include, some information will stay with the organization, expressing, “when you erase your record, it doesn’t influence your data identified with the gatherings you made or the data different clients have identifying with you, for example, their duplicate of the messages you sent them.”
I’m not sure what the politically correct term for that is but BS describes it quite well I believe.
Having that said you don’t need to stop messaging though of course. While it is advised to stop using WhatsApp and other Facebook owned messengers such as Instagram or Facebook Messenger you can most certainly continue sharing cat pictures with your family. Personally I suggest to move over to Telegram or Signal as those seem to be the most reasonable, secure, alternatives.
That sounds worrisome, but fortunately I stopped using them a long time ago. They said they will keep our private information securely but nothing is certain. In a better way, we should use other platforms to keep our privacy.
It is very terrible if WhatsApp share the client information. By the way, I don’t use for a while. If people decided to use WhatsApp, they needed to make sure that they didn’t give any important information in the app.
That sounds interesting to me because I haven’t try this app before but for some country they need to use this app continually. On social media site nothing is private but if we can choose to use other applications then use another one which more reliable.
Facebook corporations is the cause of concern. The invasion of privacy on Facebook owned services is much worse than anywhere else. That begs the question on what can be done about it. Can you really get by these days without using any of their services? We became too reliant on them and I think they know that. That’s why they shamelessly do what they do. We should never forget that our information is not ours anymore when we’re using WhatApps, or any other apps for that matter.
Hmm that sounds bad for me because privacy is very important and i saw many foreign friends move platforms for chatting to Telegram now! so from now on I think I should change platform as well
I’ve never used this application before, but for me I think they should try to keep private information securely because privacy is the most significant for every one. Moreover, I think it is better for people to use other platforms such as Telegram or Signal which the author mentioned above.
I am quite worried after reading this article since I am also using WhatsApp. It should not be normal for bigger firms and businesses to have the authority to change and control anything they want. I will be reconsidering whether I will continue using this application.
That’s a worrying issue for me. Sometimes we can’t really trust applications or social media. The app that looks reliable may even share our private data. If whatsapp insists in continuing this policy, then people may changed their platform to Telegram. I personally don’t use whatsapp, but I still use Facebook. Maybe I have to be more aware of what I text on chatting platform.
I think that is quite terrible because I did not want everyone to receive my private information. However, I can understand this because there are none of the real privacy in social media world but people can decide to use another app to feeling safe or feeling better.
Privacy is a very important for everyone not on my on the What’s all but in all platform. If it is true that whats app will shear data it’s bad news and It’s going to be a terrible thing. I feel good that I have never tried this app.
What’s app was popular in the old days, and there are many reasons people stopped using it. So I am one of them and tern to others app that meets what we need more.
Stop*
It’s a good thing that this app is not really a thing here in Thailand so we can keep our privacy safe from being hared throughout the society. The user’s information is supposed to be kept as private and should not be publicized, it is not safe to the user since they have no idea what piece of information are being shown or being used by someone else. The only way out is to use alternatives such as using other apps or go back to sending mails LOL. Countries with Whatsapp as their main communication platform should be aware, they need to be reading news and this article must be introduced to them.
It’s an Invasion of privacy if Whatsapp do that. I used to use the app when I was younger to communicate with my dad since it was really famous chatting app in Europe. But now my dad is using a different app already. No wonder why he did that.
Wow, it’s very terrible, privacy is the most important things in the world. Also as WhatsApp this application is very popular in some countries. That’s really bad. Luckily, I never use this application before so it’s good for me. However, I may have to concern more about privacy in applications that I use as well. Thanks!
I am on what’s app and it works very well. I do not think that there is anything private online but I better on another platform that contains privacy.
Privacy is an important thing in our life. It is about personal information and security. For me, I would delete WhatsApp if It extremely requires personal information or security information in using the application.
I feel very sorry for people who have been given unauthorized access to their personal information because privacy is very important to human beings that everyone should respect one another. However, I used to use Whatsapp when I was a child. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will have a negative effect like this. Luckily, we have realized that we should increase our self awareness about the use of social media.
I have tried to using whatsapp quite long time ago and know it did not suit for me. It sound worried that it is one of the famous platform that people using a lot. So, privacy is need to be the first priority.
I have been taught since I was a kid that our privacy is crucial. This particular policy is not acceptable for me if others social medias or all of them was using it, but luckily WhatsApp is not a first choice application in Thailand and I also not using it since I received this information.
It is terrible that if Whatapps share private information of the users. They should keep these data as a private. They should provide a policy and possible solution of this issue because user might not want to use this apps anymore.
I have been using this app for a while and I find it is to be a good chatting app. However, the user’s personal information is extremely important.
I know about this application for a long time, but I never using it. And It sound very bad for me after reading this information because everyone must concern about their privacy.
This blog is very interesting because I just know WhatsApp is corporate with Facebook. I agree with other opinions that privacy is important and should not be harassed. Even if the application is updated, it should be more efficient and more usable. People trust to use WhatsApp as a private messaging communication platform. However, how can people trust WhatsApp 100% if this app doesn’t have enough security? Therefore, other platforms might be choices to communicate and people more comfortable.