WhatsApp's New Privacy Policy Effectively Forces Users To Share Data With Facebook

Starting on February 8th, users joining WhatsApp will automatically be sending data to Facebook due to the terms and privacy policy changes going into effect. Current users will likely soon see a notification in-app, which will give them the option of accepting these terms or deleting their account. You can see what this notification looks like below.

Furthermore, a new statement informs users that WhatsApp now works with third-party service providers and other Facebook companies, like Facebook Technologies, Onavo, CrowdTangle, and others. This is to help WhatsApp “operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services.” Effectively, this means there is data being collected and shared among companies partnered with WhatsApp. Thankfully, the main pieces of data collected are listed throughout the privacy policy which we have gathered here:

• “service-related, diagnostic, and performance information” – how and how much you use WhatsApp.
• “device and connection-specific information” – essentially full phone information, phone number, mobile operator, ISP, language, time zone, IP address, and “device operations information, and identifiers.”
• “location information” – with permission, precise GPS, otherwise IP address and phone number area code to estimate location.

Quite frankly, it is terrifying that all that data is collected whether you want it or not. In the future, users will not have an option, though, so perhaps WhatsApp is not the best choice if you are concerned about privacy. There are alternatives out there, though, such as Signal, that have a much better reputation. Ultimately, the only way to show that this is not okay is by voting with your wallet and usage of the app, and it is time to fight privacy invasions.