WhatsApp Privacy Issue
Created on 9 July, 2024 • Scale Up Business • 120 views • 8 minutes read
You might be one of the many recipients of this notification from WhatsApp that sent the online world into a frenzy: Yes, the image above shows WhatsApp changing its user policy, forcing us to click "agree" before February 8. If not, we are free t
WhatsApp Privacy Issue
You might be one of the many recipients of this notification from WhatsApp that sent the online world into a frenzy:
Yes, the image above shows WhatsApp changing its user policy, forcing us to click "agree" before February 8. If not, we are free to leave WhatsApp and use another product.
But it seems that many people chose the second option and moved to other services. Telegram quickly reached 500 million users, with an increase of 25 million users in just 72 hours.
What's Going On?
Table of Contents
- The Situation
- But don't most Indonesians not care about privacy issues?
- WhatsApp Group Dilemma
- What’s the solution?
The Situation
It turns out WhatsApp might have miscalculated. They thought users would simply click "agree" and go on with their lives as if nothing happened. But that’s not what happened.
After several days of uproar, WhatsApp responded. Their language was ambiguous and often contradicted the new policy. This is known in the corporate world as "damage control," an effort to manage the fallout.
Interestingly, WhatsApp chose Twitter as the first platform to respond to the public, even though they reposted on Facebook later. The choice of Twitter is curious since the discussion was widespread on Twitter.
Here's the first tweet with their response:
They posted an infographic to explain the main points. It’s said in media and tech journalist circles in America that when something is communicated with an infographic like this, the damage control is already serious
If you want to read the full text version of the infographic, here's the original link to WhatsApp's statement: WhatsApp FAQ – Answering your questions about WhatsApp’s Privacy Policy.
They also posted their statement on Facebook. As mentioned, choosing Twitter first was odd but likely due to the discussion's prominence there.
Digging deeper, there are several points in WhatsApp's new policy that don't align with their public statements.
Firstly, the infographic states that WhatsApp will not share:
- Chat and voice call content.
- Our location.
- Contacts on our phone.
However, the new policy we are asked to agree to includes sharing “some categories of information” with Facebook, including details about our interactions with others. This part is quite ambiguous.
So why does WhatsApp claim they are not sharing with Facebook? Here's a headline from European media:
And note that the infographic says WhatsApp cannot see or share our location with Facebook. Remember this point as it will be contradicted later.
This theme of inconsistency continues in the FAQ article shared on Twitter:
The above text states that the new policy only applies to WhatsApp Business and not personal accounts. This was confirmed by Asumsi with Facebook Indonesia:
However, the new policy states “including businesses,” meaning it applies to all WhatsApp users, not just WhatsApp Business. Again, an inconsistency.
The full text can be read here, directly from WhatsApp's policy:
The above states that the new policy applies to all WhatsApp users, not just WhatsApp Business. It clearly states WhatsApp will collect our location data, even when not using location-sharing features.
Confused? So am I. Which one is correct?
WhatsApp's damage control explanation only adds to the confusion. Their public statements contradict the new policy.
In essence, I don't think WhatsApp will change its policy soon and will likely continue to respond this way until the news dies down and people forget about the changes.
But Don't Most Indonesians Not Care About Privacy Issues?
It might be true that data privacy is not a popular topic in Indonesia. WhatsApp numbers and emails can easily be found in Facebook and Instagram comments.
Try a small experiment and ask for someone’s email via a Facebook status. If done correctly, someone will share their email there.
Without privacy issues, WhatsApp is an inferior product compared to something like Telegram.
WhatsApp lacks features that make chat apps convenient to use. For me, that feature is synchronization between mobile and desktop.
Have you ever received the warning below on your WhatsApp web or desktop app? Something I rarely see on Telegram:
I receive the above warning several times a day, every day, which becomes inconvenient.
So, I almost don't use WhatsApp, not because of privacy issues, but because WhatsApp is not a good product compared to Telegram or Signal.
I'm also an avid iPad user. I have traveled for 3-4 days to various cities with only an iPad. I can present to clients, make video calls, sign digital agreements, discuss UI, and even run important company operations using the iPad. But not WhatsApp. I can close deals worth hundreds of millions of rupiah remotely with an iPad but not WhatsApp. Even if I could, the process is not smooth as it can only be accessed through a browser.
Besides much better multi-device synchronization, Telegram also has a feature called Channels. This feature is genius. We can communicate one-way with a large audience. Although WhatsApp responded with one-way WhatsApp groups, the execution is not as good as Telegram Channels.
WhatsApp Group Dilemma
Speaking of WhatsApp group chats, did you know that private WhatsApp groups (also stated in the infographic that groups are private and not publicly accessible) are also leaking in Google search results?
Yes, someone can find your WhatsApp group on Google, complete with an invitation link and user profiles in it. “User profiles” here means your phone number. Imagine if this is a conversation between you and your family, or a WhatsApp group with resellers or business learning groups.
Your business competitors could see everything.
Someone found this through a Google search and spread it on Twitter:
You can read the full news here: WhatsApp private chat groups get EXPOSED again on Google search.
Worse, this is not the first case. Note the word “again.”
So, as I said, even without privacy issues, WhatsApp is a bad product, messy, and lacks features.
Many people frown when I say I'm not active on WhatsApp, and I prefer to communicate via email. I use WhatsApp out of necessity because my parents are heavy WhatsApp users, and many business partners live on WhatsApp. So, if I don't use WhatsApp, it would be tough to communicate with them.
As I write this, I'm on a mission to move my parents to Signal or Telegram. Older people are also one of the reasons younger generations leave WhatsApp. We know certain generations are more easily fooled and spread hoaxes.
In Indonesia, hoaxes + older people + WhatsApp groups = a perfect combination.
Most Indonesians might not care much about privacy as long as it’s free, but lacking features compared to similar products will eventually lead users to leave WhatsApp.
Another example is promotional broadcasts that can't be stopped. We can't "unsubscribe" or leave WhatsApp broadcasts. Unlike email, where control is in the reader's hands, they can unsubscribe anytime.
To this day, I’m continuously bombarded by a training company, even though I’ve blocked their number and asked them to stop broadcasting. But my number has already circulated in their system. So, one number is blocked, another comes. Very troublesome.
This is also why the mute feature in Telegram Channels is genius. We can enjoy content whenever we want, not because of a notification. And we can unsubscribe from a Telegram Channel anytime without sacrificing our phone number to spammers.
What’s the Solution?
Again, it’s all about choice. If you don't mind your data being circulated, then go ahead and use WhatsApp. As I said, I reluctantly use WhatsApp and am trying to move away from it. God willing, I will write a specific article when I’m completely off WhatsApp.
I also use Facebook and Instagram, but with high awareness, a special email address, a special phone number, blocking tracking here and there, etc. I know I can't fully escape tracking due to Facebook's "Shadow Profiling." But that's a different topic for another time.
Telegram also has its shortcomings. Especially Signal, which still sometimes errors in sending messages.
So, what’s the solution? For business, leave group chats on any platform, including Telegram. Not because of privacy issues but because group chats are not an effective communication method. They are highly distracting.
Aside from the weaknesses mentioned above, another reason is the ineffectiveness of chat for team communication, which I’ve discussed here.
In conclusion, the point of this writing is not just about privacy issues. We need to know why we choose a product.
Choosing a popular product requires less mental effort. But choosing a good product will make our lives easier.
WhatsApp's popularity in Indonesia is like Zoom's popularity during the pandemic. Why? Because it was hyped and widely used.
In my opinion, Zoom is slow and inferior to many video call services. We use Whereby, which is much faster, doesn’t require installation, and involves less hassle.
Zoom’s shortcomings are evident in webinars or livestreaming. Many people struggle with technical issues on Zoom. Whereas, again, many webinar services are superior to Zoom, like Streamyard and others.
For me personally, all the chaos created by WhatsApp is not worth the features and quality of the product, which is far behind compared to Telegram or other chat platforms. I won’t start a conversation on WhatsApp if the person I want to contact is on Telegram.
Wherever we go on the internet, there will always be parties wanting to mine our data. On one hand, this is necessary; businesses today without data are like riding a bike at night without lights, dangerous.
As I was about to finish this article, I got news that WhatsApp is delaying the implementation of its new policy due to the uproar.
But delaying the policy implementation doesn’t make the product better. Besides being a subpar product, their communication is inconsistent, and their customer service is unsatisfactory. Some friends tried contacting WhatsApp without any result:
Before discussing privacy, maybe we should look for better products that make our lives easier, services that care about us and respond to our emails, not just because they are popular.
Conclusion
The article discusses the controversy around WhatsApp's new privacy policy, which led many users to switch to Telegram. The author highlights inconsistencies in WhatsApp's public statements and actual policies, causing confusion and mistrust. The article argues that beyond privacy issues, WhatsApp lacks features and quality compared to competitors like Telegram and Signal. The author suggests considering alternatives for better communication experiences.