As messaging giant WhatsApp prepares to hand
over more data to Facebook, users are flocking
to rival services in protest, with Signal jumping
from 250,000 downloads on the App Store a
week to almost 10 million. The move sparks
debate over the relationships we hold with the
world’s biggest technology companies and a
new war on privacy is rearing its head.
WHATSAPP CONTROVERSY
As Facebook continues to integrate its
Messenger, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
services to harvest more data from consumers
and to futureproof itself against anti-trust
investigations and growing pleas to break itself
up, the company announced early January that
it was planning to make changes to its privacy
policy. For the first time, the application will
begin sharing information about what you share
on the app with Facebook, designed to build
a stronger picture of users and deliver more
effective advertising as a result. The firm added
a pop-up to its instant messaging platform,
telling users that they had no choice but to
comply with the changes. Facebook said that,
on February 8, users who don’t wish to adhere to
the app’s policy will no longer be able to use the
application and instead must use another tool,
though the company has now pushed the
deadline to May following criticism.
Back in July 2020, Facebook changed its
WhatsApp policies to include sharing data
with “third-party services or other Facebook
Company Products that are integrated with our
Services,” though at the time users were able
to opt-out. Everything from your IP address
and home address to phone numbers, mobile