WhatsApp new privacy policy - No Privacy?

 

 let's talk about something serious today so a couple of days before I opened Whatsapp and I got this prompt about this new Whatsapp privacy policy so I obviously went ahead checked it out at all the details and I was like what? 

but today I'm gonna give you multiple reasons to delete Whatsapp. so let's start so basically there are three questions regarding the new WhatsApp privacy policy that I'm going to answer in a very very simple manner first up:- 

1) what personal data is collected by WhatsApp. 

2) what data is shared with Facebook? 

3) what data is shared with business accounts on WhatsApp?

Old Policy

first up I want to show you this so this is the previous privacy policy from December 2019 and it starts like this "Respect your privacy is coded into our DNA since we started whatsapp we have aspired to build our services with a set of strong privacy principles in mind." now that sounds promising right but this whole promising start is gone in the new privacy policy as you can see from January 2021. 

New Policy

that does not look very good so talking about the first question what data does WhatsApp collect? so basically WhatsApp still can't read your chats because it's an end to end encrypted but here's everything else it knows so WhatsApp knows what phone you're using basically your phone model, the network you're using, your OS, your battery status, signal strength, your time zone, your IP address along with all the other WhatsApp details like your WhatsApp usage which basically means how you're using the app when you're last online, etc WhatsApp also has access to your payment details your transactions thanks to WhatsApp pay, status updates, group details like group names, picture, description, your profile picture and your about info and the last time you updated yours about info. 

So that's all the data WhatsApp has about you and your phone so coming to the important question of what data is shared with Facebook?, well almost everything so as part of the new privacy policy all of the data that can be accessed by WhatsApp will be shared with Facebook as well as other Facebook companies like Instagram that's not all that you share on WhatsApp can also be used by Facebook to bring you more personalized ads, offers recommendations content on Facebook and Instagram. 

For example, when you share a link on WhatsApp about maybe a new phone you want to buy or say a watch you want to buy WhatsApp and Facebook take this info to use it for ads and other services, so don't be surprised when you and your friends see the same ads about that phone or that watch. So basically Facebook now has complete access to all of your WhatsApp data and unlike in the past when you had an option to not share your data with Facebook, there's no such option now. 

Now coming to the last question what data is shared when you interact with the business account on WhatsApp? So when you're messaging a business account on WhatsApp you have to keep in mind that your data might be available to several people in their business and if the business is working with other third-party services your data might be shared with them too. so honestly if you're messaging a business account on WhatsApp your data isn't really as secure or personal apart from all of those details in the new WhatsApp privacy policy. I also noticed a couple of really interesting and important changes that you should know about first up when it comes to as the previous WhatsApp policy said "we still do not allow third-party banner ads on our services ".

Old Policy- with no ads

that's fine but the newer policy adds a sentence to it that says "we have no intention to introduce them but if we ever do we will update this privacy policy".

New Policy 2021

Which I personally think is a hint that someday we will see ads on WhatsApp. now I might be reading into the lines a bit too much but it is Facebook so I think it's valid. another thing I previously did not know is when you delete your WhatsApp account using the delete option in the WhatsApp app not all of your data is deleted, now most of your data will be deleted but your data related to the groups you created or the data other users have of you like your messages sent to them will not be deleted anyway. overall the point is we are now witnessing WhatsApp the Facebook company it's obvious that WhatsApp is no longer a privacy-focused messaging app I mean it's clear that all of your WhatsApp data will be used by Facebook from February 8th, whether you like it or not. 

look I think it's the right time to switch to a more secure messaging app I know WhatsApp is deeply integrated into our lives but I think this is the right time to take a step now there are two ways to handle the situation one we can wait for the government to bring up more strong laws when it comes to privacy and personal user data or second, we can become more self-reliant uninstall WhatsApp and switch to another app, see there are two great apps you can switch to from WhatsApp there's Telegram and there's Signal.(why you should download Signal?) 

now telegram is already very popular in India and it's open-source so I think it's time we moved to telegram asked our contacts to messages there so we can actually move away from WhatsApp. well, what do you guys think do you think we Indians really care about our privacy as much to move from WhatsApp to another app comment down below also share this information with your friends and family so that they can know about this new privacy policy in WhatsApp exchanges and then take a well-informed decision.