Why Privacy Matters: WhatsApp
WhatsApp released its Terms of Services and its Privacy Statement updated on Tuesday, 5 January, started sending in-app notifications to its users informing them about a change. The new terms and privacy policy will come into effect on 8 February 2021.
Hard truth is that, we have no other chance than obey and accept the other destructive privacy-based requests of big brother Mark Zuckerberg unless brave enough to change our old habit to stop using WhatsApp instead. Lets take back the control over our personal information to protect our own privacy.
Let’s see what these guys are collecting from you.
1. A Short Brief of WhatsApp Data Collection
WhatsApp’s Privacy Statement that its app has access to all the phone numbers in your address book, and that it collects a wide range of information about you.
Your Account Information: Phone number, status updates and profile pictures and some other basic information and such.
Your Connections. Phone number and including all your contact lists on a regular basis (which means every-time you add a new person telephone number on your contact list, WhatsApp aware it too), groups, broadcast lists and group profile pictures or description and such.
Transactions and Payments Data. If you use Facebook-owned payment services or any Facebook-owned service meant for financial transactions, the company does collect additional data, which includes information about your payment account and transaction information, shipping details and transaction amounts and such.
Location Information. Collect and use precise location information from your device which includes share your location with your contacts or view locations nearby or locations others have shared with you.
Another hard truth is that, even though you refuse to share your location information with WhatsApp, they will do it in anyway via collecting your IP addresses of your mobile phone to detect your general location so called troubleshooting and diagnostic reasons.
Device and Connection Information. Your mobile phone hardware model, operating system information, battery level, signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network, connection information (including phone number, mobile operator or ISP), language and time zone, IP address, device operations information and such.
Usage and Log Information. This includes information about your activity (including how you use WhatsApp, how you interact with others using WhatsApp (including when you interact with a business), and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities and interactions), log files, and diagnostic, crash, website, and performance logs and reports.
It is important to note that, somehow if they can’t collect that information through your phone, they’ll obtain it when people message you, since WhatsApp also has access to your friends’ activity data.
2. Biggest Bullshit of WhatsApp: We Don’t Have Any Idea Of Your Messages-Phone Calls Due to End-To-End Encryption Technology.
Signal Protocol is non federated cryptographic protocol that provides end-to-end encryption for instant messaging conversations.
End-to-end encryption in a messaging service means that the contents of any given message are only available to you (the sender) and your friend (the intended recipient).
That’s what WhatsApp started to use that information when they displayed this message in your conversation: “Message you send this chat and calls are now secured with end-to-end encryption. “
So far, you might think that it is quite fine and safe since, WhatsApp also use Signal Protocol as well.
Well, it is not the case at all.
Even though, WhatsApp using Signal Protocol to not read your messages or listen to your content of your telephone calls. Instead, the WhatsApp was just “sifting through this so-called metadata.
Collection of metadata is simply, provides WhatsApp to an electronic “fingerprint” that automatically adds identifying characteristics of every messages and phone calls via WhatsApp as metadata includes the duration of the message/phone calls, location information and such. Let’s read it conjunction with the information about sender and recipients of these messages and phone calls.
Let’s have a closer look with example about what WhatsApp can be capable of doing with collection of your metadata.
- They know, you talked with one of the hospital HIV service then your doctor, then your health insurance company in the same hour. But they don’t know what was discussed.
- They know, you talked with a gynecologist, for a half hour, and then called or message the local Planned Parenthood’s number later that day. But nobody knows what the content about it.
- They know, you rang a phone sex service at 2:24 am and spoke for 18 minutes. But they don’t know what you talked about.
- They know, you received a message from any organization associated with political views or such, but they don’t know what you received the content of message.
Your WhatsApp message and phone records — oops, “so-called metadata” — can reveal a lot more about the content of your calls/message than the WhatsApp Privacy Statement is implying. Metadata provides enough context to know some of the most intimate details of your lives. And the WhatsApp has given no assurances that this data will never be correlated with other easily obtained your personal data.
3. WhatsApp Is Not the Only Option
Signal is an independent non-profit organization which highly respect of privacy of individual.
Only personal data that they collect is your mobile phone number to create a Signal Account for registration and when you last logged into their server. (It doesn’t even record the hour, minutes or seconds of it, just the day.)
And That’s it. Nothing more.
Signal is a free app. I mean really free. They are not collection any of your data to see you as a product for an advertiser like WhatsApp. Nor sharing any data of you with third parties.
Check Signal App to not only to just change your old habits to stop using WhatsApp but also to control over your data to protect your privacy.
Not tomorrow but lets do it today all together.
Well said Mark Zuckerberg.
