How Facebook is Systematically Destroying Your Privacy.
Today Twitter has exploded with the new WhatsApp (#WhatsApp #WhatsappPrivacy) privacy policy that simply renders your privacy non-existent.
This policy is forced, meaning that It’s not opt-out. If a user doesn’t accept the terms he or she will be unable to access their own messages and information.
WhatsApp has more than 2 billion active users in 180 countries.
Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of WhatsApp, has opted to adopt an aggressive strategy to milk the most out the personal message application taking advantage of the — elusive — sensation of privacy that the ordinary user assumes it’s guaranteed in a private message application.
WhatsApp was founded 12 years ago and has worked hard to become the most popular message application present in more than 180 countries.
In many professional and social groups, it’s difficult to imagine a dynamic without the use of the Facebook owned app that greatly facilitates people’s life by guaranteeing high-quality private exchange of information.
Now — effective 8 February — this has ended when all your information will be available to be shared freely to whomever Facebook wants to sell it to.
How To Protect My Privacy
There are tons of safe alternatives to WhatsApp and Telegram is one of the most popular options. The app is open-source, meaning that its code can be studied by all of the world’s specialists and its safety can be ensured by any interested party.
In my opinion, the issue is not finding an alternative but to port all of our WhatsApp social structures to a new application, but this is not that challenging.
Users must understand four things:
First,
People must be willing to accept that the fact that if WhatsApp doesn’t back from this policy change its service is simply irrelevant and valueless.
Second,
The importance of a safe and private communication system is of extreme importance and ordinary people must understand that their information is invaluable and should not be used by a company to make a profit.
Giving your information to third parties puts your life in the hands of others and if they choose to crush you, Facebook can.
Third,
Whatsapp is not the best messaging app there is.
In terms of the user experience (UX) the application is below average and not only it doesn’t protect your privacy, the many available alternatives — especially the open-source ones — can provide you a much better messaging experience.
Fourth,
If you don’t care and think that you don’t have anything to hide, you are looking at this from the wrong angle.
This is not about hiding your information, but more about the importance of trusting your projects, professional info, familiar groups, etc… to a stable company.
The more you invest by saving your pictures, videos, chats, your invaluable information in a messaging application such as WhatsApp the more dependent you become on it.
Why would you build your castle on a foundation that can simply crumble just because you don’t want to freely give your information to increase the wealth of Mark Zuckerberg?
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It doesn’t matter really what alternative you choose or even if you choose to accept the new policy terms.
What matters is that we are all aware that we must be aware of a new type of commerce that involves selling your life to companies that just want to explore you.
This opens precedent to bigger and more dramatic changes. And if we don’t quickly discover our own power as the user we will open ourselves to be freely explored by the greed of small groups.
If you want to know more, follow the Twitter trending topics: #WhatsApp, #WhatsappPrivacy
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