Whatsapp's new privacy policy

[troglodiet]

Who of you are going to accept it?

Although I had to use Whatsapp for business purposes, I've made the switch to Telegram a while ago, long before this latest controversy.

Yesterday, on Mr. Musk's recommendation, I've also installed Signal, but so far only a handful of my contacts have it, whereas probably half my contacts are now on Telegram. Just yesterday, probably 30+ of my contacts became new Telegram users.

I will be deleting my Whatsapp account on 31/01 and delete the app. I've also disabled Facebook and related apps which I can't uninstall.

Anybody okay with the new policies?

** EU and UK types need not be concerned.

[Dinsdale Piranha]

Who of you are going to accept it?

Although I had to use Whatsapp for business purposes, I've made the switch to Telegram a while ago, long before this latest controversy.

Yesterday, on Mr. Musk's recommendation, I've also installed Signal, but so far only a handful of my contacts have it, whereas probably half my contacts are now on Telegram. Just yesterday, probably 30+ of my contacts became new Telegram users.

I will be deleting my Whatsapp account on 31/01 and delete the app. I've also disabled Facebook and related apps which I can't uninstall.

Anybody okay with the new policies?

** EU and UK types need not be concerned.

Plenty of my geek friends use Signal but it's taken several years to move many people from messenger to WhatsApp so i can't see me getting rid of it any time soon.

[Ymx]

In the UK.

But what are the policies?

Analysing your messages and suggestive advertising or similar?

[troglodiet]

In the UK.

But what are the policies?

Analysing your messages and suggestive advertising or similar?

Allowing your data to be shared with FB.

Includes but not limited to: your contacts, your location, your IP address, who when and where you message/ phone, your phone's OS, model and SMEI number. Your photos, videos.

I can't think of a company I trust more with my data than FB.

[ASMO]

If you think they are not doing that already then you are naive. Highly like they are using shared infrastructure anyway.

[Saint]

In the UK.

But what are the policies?

Analysing your messages and suggestive advertising or similar?

Allowing your data to be shared with FB.

Includes but not limited to: your contacts, your location, your IP address, who when and where you message/ phone, your phone's OS, model and SMEI number. Your photos, videos.

I can't think of a company I trust more with my data than FB.

My understanding is that unless you opted out of sharing date between WhatsApp and Facebook back in 2016 then there is no change in terms of what's actually happening. If you HAD previously opted out the this changes that

[troglodiet]

If you think they are not doing that already then you are naive. Highly like they are using shared infrastructure anyway.

Oh I know all too well they did.

When PR was expected to go tits-up and NPR was being set up, I created a FB account to stay in touch with some boredies just to keep in the loop.

The only info I gave was my name, but it immediately suggested all of my Whatsapp contacts as friends.

It's the COMPULSORY thing that is worrying. Unless you agree, you won't be able to use the app anymore.

Also, according to what I read, they'll now be able to collect and share much, much more than before.

Oh, and as a bonus they've also opened the door to start showings ads, which will be very specific, from all the data they're collecting.

[Fangle]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

[Sandstorm]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Nope. Same for me.

[Enzedder]

I am totally blase about the whole thing. What effect my spending and browsing habits will have on their business is beyond me but I do know that somewhere I am going to get ads popping up on the internet sites I visit so they may as well be relevant.

[troglodiet]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

[Fangle]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

If I need to open a fb account then I will do it with as little data as possible. WhatsApp is important to my connection to my extended family.

[Sandstorm]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

If I need to open a fb account then I will do it with as little data as possible. WhatsApp is important to my connection to my extended family.

Just open a fake one with your email account the only factual thing. Oom Fangle seems like a good option for your name. Then never login to Bookface again.

[Saint]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

Since FB bought WhatsApp, it's been absolutely inevitable that WhatsApp and FB Messenger would merge into a single end user solution. I'm fairly sure at this point that they already share the same backend platform (not just infrastructure) and it's just the interface that varies.

[Caley_Red]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

Surely that can't be legal under basic principles of consumer law (compelling people to open a FB account)?

I left FB about 6 years ago, utterly hated the product and hated the company's nefarious practices even more but within a few months they duly bought Watsapp (competition regulators asleep at the wheel).

Was content to continue using it as it was unrelated to FB (nominally at least) but in a bit of a bind now as I use it to keep in contact with family and friends at home (them being in the UK, they're not affected by this change) but absolutely don't want to agree to these conditions.

I've just blocked all the app permissions for Watsapp on my phone (contacts, location etc.)- does anyone know if this is likely to make a difference?

[Torquemada 1420]

Have never used Whatsapp for all the aforementioned reasons.

[Blake]

I am totally blase about the whole thing. What effect my spending and browsing habits will have on their business is beyond me but I do know that somewhere I am going to get ads popping up on the internet sites I visit so they may as well be relevant.

I had this discussion with my old man recently. I think it is a generational thing. Those over 60 don't seem to concerned with the data mining they are being subjected to, and fair enough. Similar to climate change and other issues, they are unlikely (or at least believe they are unlikely) to be around when the effects really come of a head in the future.

For younger generations there is some merit in at least attempting to manage your digital footprint and distribute your digital activities between platforms to try and limit their influence over you.

[Blake]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

Surely that can't be legal under basic principles of consumer law (compelling people to open a FB account)?

I left FB about 6 years ago, utterly hated the product and hated the company's nefarious practices even more but within a few months they duly bought Watsapp (competition regulators asleep at the wheel).

Was content to continue using it as it was unrelated to FB (nominally at least) but in a bit of a bind now as I use it to keep in contact with family and friends at home (them being in the UK, they're not affected by this change) but absolutely don't want to agree to these conditions.

I've just blocked all the app permissions for Watsapp on my phone (contacts, location etc.)- does anyone know if this is likely to make a difference?

They can force you to open an account, but not to actually use it for anything. Did the same thing to Oculus Virtual Reality Headset owners when they acquired the company recently.

[Blake]

As I have never had a Facebook account, will this affect me in any way at all?

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

If I need to open a fb account then I will do it with as little data as possible. WhatsApp is important to my connection to my extended family.

It's a hot button issue in SA as well. In the last couple of days I've had a ton of notifications on both Telegram and Signal of people joining.
Don't be surprised if your SA family and friends moved over is all I'm saying.

Signal is getting a ton of great press, so they are likely to win out in the long term, even though they have fewer features than Telegram; so you might want to prompt them in that direction and get it over with.

[Lemoentjie]

Telegram is great

[Fangle]

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

If I need to open a fb account then I will do it with as little data as possible. WhatsApp is important to my connection to my extended family.

It's a hot button issue in SA as well. In the last couple of days I've had a ton of notifications on both Telegram and Signal of people joining.
Don't be surprised if your SA family and friends moved over is all I'm saying.

Signal is getting a ton of great press, so they are likely to win out in the long term, even though they have fewer features than Telegram; so you might want to prompt them in that direction and get it over with.

I will have no problem with moving.

[Blake]

Signal was built by the founders of WhatsApp after they were bought out by Facebook, so it is very samey. Just fewer features...like WhatsApp from 2-3 years ago.

The best thing to come out of this is that I will hopefully in future not have to endure friends and coworkers calling it WhatsUp

Telegram isn't bad, it's just not open source, so it can't be audited by independent security experts. It all very secretive as to their encryption and where/how your data is stored, especially since they could theoretically decrypt your intercepted messages on said servers, so just be aware of that.

[robmatic]

Most reliable sources (gsmarea.com, Business Insider, Saffa ENCA, etc) reckon you won't be able to use the app without a FB account.

At this stage just more of an opinion than fact, but especially gsmarea usually have their fingers on the pulse.

Fact though is that if you don't agree to the new T&Cs, you won't be able to use Whatsapp any longer. That's specifically stated in the T&Cs.

If I need to open a fb account then I will do it with as little data as possible. WhatsApp is important to my connection to my extended family.

It's a hot button issue in SA as well. In the last couple of days I've had a ton of notifications on both Telegram and Signal of people joining.
Don't be surprised if your SA family and friends moved over is all I'm saying.

Signal is getting a ton of great press, so they are likely to win out in the long term, even though they have fewer features than Telegram; so you might want to prompt them in that direction and get it over with.

In Turkey the government is taking advantage of all this chat about WhatsApp to encourage people to use a local service called Bip, which happens to be hosted wholly under their jurisdiction and owned by the sovereign wealth fund.

Think I'll take my chances with Facebook owning my data.

[Blake]

In Turkey the government is taking advantage of all this chat about WhatsApp to encourage people to use a local service called Bip, which happens to be hosted wholly under their jurisdiction and owned by the sovereign wealth fund.

Think I'll take my chances with Facebook owning my data.

Pretty smart of them. Hope people don't fall for it, but I'm sure many will.


Just use Signal man. In 2-3 years everybody is going to be on there anyway.

[Sandstorm]

Telegram is great

Signal for me then.

[Not_Couch]

Signal by far the best private messenger with privacy settings intact

[Blake]

signal-2021-01-12-113759.jpeg (574.5 KiB) Viewed 1282 times

[Kiap]

[Not_Couch]

This is the best video explaining the security flaws in WhatsApp and why signal is the best

[stemoc]

Signal is an american product so very like the CIA spying on ur calls, whatsapp is indian, telegram is russian..you'd wanna avoid the latter..every app was designed to spy on ppl its just that some get funding from spy agencies...in my experience its best to avoid American apps, even if they are not under the control of a US spy agency, they usually fold when the CIA or another spy organization like the secret service or FBI asks them (forces) to release private information to them

[Not_Couch]

Signal is an american product so very like the CIA spying on ur calls, whatsapp is indian, telegram is russian..you'd wanna avoid the latter..every app was designed to spy on ppl its just that some get funding from spy agencies...in my experience its best to avoid American apps, even if they are not under the control of a US spy agency, they usually fold when the CIA or another spy organization like the secret service or FBI asks them (forces) to release private information to them

You sound like Maxwell smart

[mos_eisely_]

Signal is an american product so very like the CIA spying on ur calls, whatsapp is indian, telegram is russian..you'd wanna avoid the latter..every app was designed to spy on ppl its just that some get funding from spy agencies...in my experience its best to avoid American apps, even if they are not under the control of a US spy agency, they usually fold when the CIA or another spy organization like the secret service or FBI asks them (forces) to release private information to them

Well that's bollocks. WhatsApp was started in California by an American and an American-Ukrainian

[stemoc]

Signal is an american product so very like the CIA spying on ur calls, whatsapp is indian, telegram is russian..you'd wanna avoid the latter..every app was designed to spy on ppl its just that some get funding from spy agencies...in my experience its best to avoid American apps, even if they are not under the control of a US spy agency, they usually fold when the CIA or another spy organization like the secret service or FBI asks them (forces) to release private information to them

Well that's bollocks. WhatsApp was started in California by an American and an American-Ukrainian

sure they did, but they outsourced the running of it to india..