Some basic realities behind the WhatsApp exodus

What a coincidence. At the beginning of this month, I was speaking of data privacy in tech. A couple weeks later, Facebook has once again given us something to talk about. This time, it's the Facebook-owned WhatsApp that has generated the controversy with an update to their Privacy Policy. They will apparently be sharing data with their parent company.

Now, this shouldn't come as any sort of surprise; after all, WhatsApp warned us back in 2016. What did surprise me was the sheer amount of people who upped and left, and started new accounts on apps such as Telegram and Signal.

Time to ditch WhatsApp?

Like, why now? All of a sudden, this reminded them that Mark Zuckerberg can't be trusted with their data? Kind of late, isn't it?

The alleged privacy issue

People have stated that this change to the Privacy Policy was what prompted them to move. Bear with me a moment; I'm about to explain why this is silly.

Firstly, WhatsApp's messaging service is as secure as ever, even from Facebook. No one short of a truly gifted (and determined) hacker can read your perfectly uninteresting messages and listen in on your perfectly uninteresting conversations. The data that is meant to be shared, is with WhatsApp's business entities, and even that is limited data that can be used for targeted advertising. In short, these changes to the privacy policy are only in effect with regard to conversations with businesses on WhatsApp.

Businesses. Not individuals.

So the panicked masses jumping ship over to seemingly more secure apps are really just overreacting. Chill! There's no guarantee that Telegram and Signal won't go the same way WhatsApp has gone. All it takes - all it ever seems to take - is an interested buyer. Sure, the owner of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has pledged never to sell. The co-founder of Signal and also co-founder of WhatsApp, Brian Acton, is all about the data privacy. Then again, how well do you know these guys? Promises are easy to make and even easier to break.

Secondly, I'd like to remind people that WhatsApp cost them nothing to install and use. My stance back then is pretty much the same now - if you aren't paying to use something, suck it up. If your precious privacy was really all that important, you'd spend a few bucks protecting it, wouldn't you?

Nothing is for free. Ever.

From the first day I started using WhatsApp, I've assumed that anything I say can be accessed and used against me. I don't expect anything to be private. It's a risk that every online user has to live with.

That said...

I actually do think it's a good idea to ditch WhatsApp. Though not for the knee-jerk reaction that many are having. You see, I don't like near-monopolies in tech. It spells trouble. That puts too much power into the hands of one party, and gives them the ability to screw us over all at once, whether intentionally or otherwise.

Thus, if people really wish to leave WhatsApp, I'm all for the idea. I just think most peoples' reasons for doing so aren't altogether sensible.

As of now, WhatsApp has announced a postponement of the planned update. I'm not sure how this is supposed to help; the damage is well and truly done. It's not like this will magically win back all the trust that wasn't there in the first place. Most people, if they actually look at the updated privacy policy, should not find much to be alarmed at. It's really WhatsApp's parent company, Facebook, that doesn't inspire confidence in users. And let's be honest here; who could blame them?

So long, Zuckers!
T___T