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As of February 8, the new rules that WhatsApp, the messaging service, established for its users will come into force. Know the details before you “accept”.
The main change is that if users want to continue using the application they will have to give their consent to Facebook to share and use the data obtained from WhatsApp for the rest of its services and purposes.
“WhatsApp will update its conditions and privacy policy.” This is the message that has popped up on millions of smartphone screens in recent days. The main change is that if users want to continue using the application they will have to give their consent to Facebook to share and use the data obtained from WhatsApp for the rest of its services and purposes.
How will this affect their privacy and what information will they have access to? Vanguardia tells you the details of the contract you will be accepting and the alternatives you have if you do not want to grant the permissions to this messaging service.
Contents
What does the contract say?
WhatsApp already announced these changes in July last year. But until now it was not mandatory for anyone to share the data, but voluntary. Basically, you are accepting that WhatsApp share your account data and use of the service, with the Facebook companies.
The new policies guarantee that the platform will continue to be free of advertising banners.
What will Facebook do with the information?
It will create more effective ads for you. Other companies will use your information to create ads or advertising strategies that will appear on Facebook and Instagram.
This regulation does not apply to users from member states of the European Union. This thanks to the European data protection regulation, the GDPR, introduced in recent years.
No. The company cannot read the app’s messages, as it works with end-to-end encryption. This means that when a user sends a message, it will be encrypted and will only be decrypted once it reaches the recipient.
In this way, WhatsApp would cease to be a free service, although it does not require money, you will pay with an information exchange.
– Phone number, name, profile.
– Payments and financial transactions.
– Contacts.
– Status updates.
– When you use WhatsApp and for how long.
– Information on how you interact with your contacts, groups and companies.
– Information about the mobile device: battery charge, Internet service provider, signal strength, hardware model, operating system.
– IP address, which indicates the location of the Internet connection.
The controversy
The data you share could help Mark Zuckerberg’s company build very complete profiles of users who use its various social networks. This will help you better target your advertising campaigns to the personal tastes of your users, and thus earn more money with more effective advertising.
In 2014, Facebook was sanctioned by the European Commission for providing misleading data in the purchase of WhatsApp.
The Commission then asked the social media giant if it could technically link the accounts of customers with profiles on both services. Facebook replied no.
February 8, 2021 will be the deadline to make a decision, otherwise your account will be deleted.
Alternatives
If you decide not to accept the contract with the courier company, these are the options that you can start downloading:
Telegram: Allows you to send multimedia files up to 2GB, make video and audio calls and create groups of up to 200,000 members. It also allows messages to self-destruct after a specified time. After a period of inactivity, the user can enable the account to be deleted automatically.
In secret chats, the messages that are sent cannot be forwarded to other users, nor can they be downloaded, nor can they take screen shots, for a more private communication.
2.2 million downloads, approximately, registered Telegram.
Signal: Allows you to share text messages, photo, audio and video files, it also has the option of video calls. It has stood out for its privacy, as it minimizes the metadata it collects and saves from its users. The application only keeps the information of the account’s phone number and the last connection.
It also has messages that self-destruct and gives the user the option to choose whether to block the alternative screenshots of the chats they have. Likewise, it has the option to hide the user’s IP address.
100,000 users installed Signal, after it was endorsed by personalities such as Tesla founder Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter.
Threema: It is an app that works anonymously, includes voice calls, group chat, this under a paid model.
WhatsApp downloads fell 11% in the first seven days of 2021 compared to the previous week, according to Sensor Tower.
Wire: With this application there is no need to share your phone number with other people. Only with a username it is possible to connect. Despite some differences in security levels, it is equally recommended to Threema for the “average user”. Line: Line appeared in 2011 and also grew in its early days. Her Asian air and tone are highly valued and she uses a verification code.
