Home Why Does Facebook Demand Our Data From WhatsApp?

Why Does Facebook Demand Our Data From WhatsApp?

With WhatsApp changing their privacy policy, more users have moved to other platforms in order for their data to not be shamelessly collected. Telegram gained 25 million new users in the last 72 hours as it smashed past the 500 million active monthly user mark. Before, the app averaged around 1.5 million new users per day in 2020, which was already impressive enough. Durvov, the owner of Telegram, says that this is down to his company’s simple privacy and security promise, above all else.

Users Are Not Staying with WhatsApp

These users are coming from multiple places around the world. People mainly from Asia (38%), Europe (27%), Latin America (21%). The other 8% are the people from the Middle East and North Africa.

Telegram has risen higher in the app ranks with the WhatsApp policy change. However, there is another Private Messenger, Signal. This messenger has managed to rise through the ranks in the Play Store all the way to number one. It holds number one in the US, UK, Germany, Lebanon and France. In India, Brazil and Singapore, the app has made its way to spot number three.

Signal was advocated by Elon Musk, the current richest person on Earth. Funnily enough, his attempt to move people across ended up with Signals stock increasing by 1100% and the delivery of verification codes to be delayed.

Facebook whatsapp disappearing messages

Facebook Has Been Caught Red-Handed Too Many Times

There’s a reason all of these people are running from WhatsApp. If you think about it, your data collected by Facebook added to WhatsApp’s bank of data, it’s almost like a complete personal report on you. We all already know the issue that Facebook has had with people’s personal data time and again. The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg, has gotten into hearings where he has given unsatisfactory answers. One of the biggest being Cambridge Analytica.

This data that WhatsApp wants from you is your account registration information such as your phone number, transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others, including businesses when using the service, and mobile device information.

Is this something that a platform really needs to know?

At the start of the testimonial, one of the senators had asked Zuckerburg to share the name of the hotel he had stayed in. He had looked shocked at the question. But this is what Facebook is doing even more-so with our data by using WhatsApp. What right do they have to save our chats and images?

With Cambridge Analytica, it is said as many as 87 million users were affected. WhatsApp had about 2 million users before they introduced the policy change. That would be 2 million people’s data harvested and inspected. Sold off and/or used otherwise.

Even apart from Cambridge Analytica, Facebook had been caught hiring contractors to transcribe audio messages sent by users back in 2019. In the very same year, Facebook had been caught with privacy leaks that had cost them $5 billion.

If we can’t tell already, Facebook doesn’t have our best interests at heart. It’s always about making money and harvesting personal data from it’s users. Why would the company even need information about your phone?

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