Current affairs

In rival with Signal, WhatApp claims it is 'clean': Here's what it has said amid privacy policy row!

By alagu, 12 January, 2021
WhatsApp, Facebook, Controversies

Global messaging platform WhatsApp has recently come under fire over its controversial privacy policy, which brought the application under massive flak and outrage after the users put out objections against WhatsApp that it is compromising the security and privacy standards through the recently proposed policy and it also accused of leaking the private messages with family and friends on the search engines. 

The platform has come under criticism over its privacy policy update that took place last week and will be applicable from February 8. After the emergence of unprecedented controversies, the users across and beyond India have bid adieu to WhatsApp and welcomed the apps like 'Signal' and 'Telegram' and many had stuck to Signal after the recommendation from world's richest man Elon Musk, who took to Twitter and said, "Use Signal". The grounds of WhatsApp had got eroded after millions stormed to get Signal as the replacement to WhatsApp, signaling the large scale objections from different nations. 

The development had pushed the Facebook-owned WhatsApp to address the escalating criticisms. On Tuesday, the messaging service has issued a clarification in its bid to clear the objections and to assure that there won't be any compromises on privacy. In its clarification, WhatsApp has said that change in its recently revised policy doesn't affect the privacy of messages with friends or family and claimed that the update includes changes related to messaging a business on WhatsApp. 

WhatsApp said it wanted to address rumors and asserted that it will continue to protect your private messages with end-to-end encryption. The messaging service said that it could not see the private messages or hear the calls of the users. According to reports, WhatsApp had released a new FAQ on its site that highlights private communication on the application. In its FAQ,  the messaging platform said, "Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can read your messages or hear your calls with your friends, family, and co-workers on WhatsApp. Whatever you share, it stays between you". 

It further stated that "Our privacy policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family". The messaging service said that it didn't keep logs of user communications. Taking to Twitter, WhatsApp said, "We want to address some rumors and be 100% clear, we continue to protect your private messages with end-to-end encryption". It also shared the list of information that is not shared with Facebook. 

As per the messaging service, "WhatsApp cannot see your shared location, and neither can Facebook. It also doesn't share your contacts with Facebook. WhatsApp groups remain private and you can set your messages to disappear and you can download your data". By citing that WhatsApp didn't share contacts with Facebook, it said, "When you give us permission, we access only the phone numbers from your address book to make messaging fast and reliable, and we don't share your contacts lists with the other apps Facebook offers". 

If the users want additional privacy, WhatsApp said that they can change message settings to disappear from chats after they send them. On the account of group chats, WhatsApp said, "We use group membership to deliver messages and to protect our service from spam and abuse. We don't share this data with Facebook for ads purposes". It also mentioned the arrival of new commerce features that could allow businesses to sell their goods and services from WhatsApp, which could require personalization. 

The clarification has come when the users are giving a global surge to Signal and it has witnessed unprecedented downloads with the assertion it won't collect any data. Signal, which has become a cross-platform rivaling WhatsApp, is developed by the Signal Foundation and Signal Messenger. WhatsApp has 400 million users in India alone and the recent clarification was the second one from the messaging platform over its privacy policy, which triggered tensions that it will be sharing data with its parent company Facebook. 

 

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