WhatsApp’s new data rules lead to unease

NEW DELHI: An update to WhatsApp’s terms of service has created unease among users, raising questions about how the messaging platform uses and shares data.

The new terms of service informed users that their data would be shared with its parent company Facebook as well as with business accounts on Whatsapp that a user chooses to interact with. “As part of the Facebook family of companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, this family of companies,” the policy said. “We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support and market our services and their offerings.”

User reaction to the move on social media was swift and adverse, with many encouraging others to boycott the chat service and also offering up or discussing alternatives. “The number of people now looking to shift out of WhatsApp to Signal/Telegram is crazy. This could be Signal’s moment. And that’s a good thing. I have two groups (for now) discussing a move. One has moved,” Nikhil Pahwa, founder of digital news website Medianama, wrote on Twitter.

Electric car maker Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, was among the first to ask users to move to Signal after the update. The high-profile billionaire’s tweet was retweeted by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey and American whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Users have moved away from the platform globally in numbers large enough to crash competitor Signal’s servers temporarily.

To be sure, it may still be too early to gauge the impact this change will have on WhatsApp’s user base in India.

Despite widespread criticism on social media, WhatsApp’s download numbers stay ahead of Telegram and Signal.