Is WhatsApp safe after giving data to Facebook?

Jan Koum interviewed by reporter

In 2014, just one year after Whatsapp was launched as a start-up company, Mark Zuckerberg paid $19 billion for his company and bought it. At the time, Jan Koum, one of the founders of WhatsApp, claimed that the acquisition would not affect the privacy of its customers, and WhatsApp remained the world’s most secure communications tool.

And this week's news may be about hitting Koum.

Just on Thursday, local time, WhatsApp announced that it has made major changes to its privacy policy and will start sharing data with its parent company Facebook for advertising purposes. This is the first time that WhatsApp has changed the privacy regulations for four years.

WhatsApp has always been recognized by the public with high security. All operations on WhatsApp, including making calls, sending text messages, photos, and taking videos, have adopted “end-to-end” encryption protection. In simple terms, your communication content is stored on WhatsApp's own information platform. WhatsApp puts a lock on the platform and throws the unlockable key. So even if the operator WhatsApp itself can not get your communication content.

The biggest change brought about by this change is that WhatsApp will share some of the information, including the user’s phone number, with Facebook so that Facebook can make more accurate recommendations for friends and help users to block spam.

In addition, Facebook will also use the data obtained in advertising business, companies can later send directly to the user, including product marketing, appointment reminders, meeting arrangements and other recommendations. WhatsApp said that when users use Facebook or Instagram, this data is more conducive to advertisers to deliver targeted ads. Of course, this is only for Facebook, WhatsApp is still not advertising.

This policy adjustment is the first step toward the commercialization of WhatsApp, so it seems that Facebook finally seems to be starting to realize WhatsApp. However, there is also a group of loyal users of WhatsApp who have expressed concerns about privacy security. Previously, the company refused to provide users with information to the FBI, and it was against the company's WhatsApp. This time it gave Facebook a back door, which made people worry a bit.

However, WhatsApp indicated that the user's phone number is not publicly shared to everyone but is injected into Facebook's advertising algorithm system, and the user's chat information is still encrypted. The form of this type of advertising is similar to that of China Wechat's "custom advertising."

"By cooperating with Facebook, we will be able to help users filter spam more easily." WhatsApp said, "Facebook can provide better friend list recommendations, and show more relevance based on the user's account on the platform. For example, the user may see a brand that he knows well about what the company recommends, rather than a brand that a stranger has recommended and never heard of.”

Although, WhatsApp said that this data sharing will not really affect the user's information security, but in the strong advertising demand of the parent company Facebook, do not know how long WhatsApp can be firm?

Via nytimes

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