device information, transaction data, and other
information can be carried over from WhatsApp
to add to Facebook’s already-overgrown picture
of consumers, with millions of trackers following
users’ moves across the web. Apple fought back
against some of these changes in 2020 with iOS
14 and macOS 11 Big Sur, though the company
delayed its anti-tracking permission rules
to give developers more time. As Facebook
continues to grapple against governments,
private lobbyists, and consumers, the latest
move to bring WhatsApp in line with its other
services has not gone down well, and now
consumers are looking to rival messaging apps
in protest of the change.
In India, home to the world’s biggest WhatsApp
userbase, the company has lost the trust
of its users, so much so that Facebook has
taken out newspaper advertisements to ask
them to stay, clarifying some of its privacy
policy changes to appease concerns from
customers. Speaking of the policy updates,
Facebook said that it was “giving businesses
the option to use secure hosting services from
Facebook to manage WhatsApp chats with their
customers, answer questions, and send helpful
information like purchase receipts,” and added
that “Whether you communicate with a business
by phone, email, or WhatsApp, it can see what
you’re saying and may use that information for
its own marketing purposes, which may include
advertising on Facebook,” but for many users,
their statement came too late.Image: Nasir Kachroo