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Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data To be Shared With Facebook (macrumors.com) 102

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
WhatsApp's latest terms and privacy policy allows the popular messaging app to share a significant amount of user data with Facebook. From a report: WhatsApp users are today receiving an in-app notice informing them about the app's updated terms of service and privacy policy. The notice gives an overview of the main three updates, covering how WhatsApp processes user data, how businesses can use Facebook-hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats, and how WhatsApp will soon partner with Facebook to offer deeper integrations across all of the parent company's products. The changes, which are set to take effect on February 8, 2021, are mandatory and users will not be able to continue using WhatsApp unless they accept the terms.
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Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data To be Shared With Facebook More

Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data To be Shared With Facebook

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  • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @09:06AM (#60902744)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • They don't already? (Score:3)

    by JonnyCalcutta ( 524825 ) on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @09:21AM (#60902778)

    I'm forced to use Whatsapp because of work, and never really bothered reading the t&cs. The only surprise to me about this is that they aren't sharing everything anyway (with Facebook, and anyone else with a big enough cheque book). In fact, like the other posters I'd go as far as saying this has been happening and the only change is they are telling us.

    • I'm forced to use Whatsapp because of work

      I"m curious...what sort of job requires you to use a chat app like WhatsApp?

      That seems a strange job requirement. Do they at least give you a company phone to run it on?

      • Re:They don't already? (Score:4, Informative)

        by CastrTroy ( 595695 ) on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @10:21AM (#60903042)

        Not the parent, but some businesses, especially small businesses, just use whatever random small app they find gets the job done, and sometimes it's just decided by whatever the business owner is familiar with.

        I'm actually surprised sometimes how much companies are willing to share data with other companies because how easy it is for them to use the services. 20 years ago you would have never seen so many software companies allowing someone else access to their source code, but now you see tons of software companies willingly uploading their code to GitHub/Microsoft.

        • I'm actually surprised sometimes how much companies are willing to share data with other companies because how easy it is for them to use the services. 20 years ago you would have never seen so many software companies allowing someone else access to their source code, but now you see tons of software companies willingly uploading their code to GitHub/Microsoft.

          One thing has nothing whatsoever to do with the other.

          OSS is completely orthogonal to putting someone else in charge of data you don't intend to share.

        • I mean, if the business owner decided they don't mind FB spying on them, then they probably have no problem with FB spying on their employees. After all, it's not an additional cost they have to bear.

      • Its not actually a requirement, but I run a company that's part of a small franchise network and there's a Whatsapp group for technician chat (beer line cleaning, so business wise we have nothing to do with computers or coding - in fact most are as un-techy as it gets).

        So maybe 'forced' was the wrong word, but the group is very handy for real-time technical chat and problem solving, which can be important on jobbing work when there are hourly deadlines alongside random issues. Refusing to use it would just

        • Its not actually a requirement, but I run a company that's part of a small franchise network and there's a Whatsapp group for technician chat (beer line cleaning, so business wise we have nothing to do with computers or coding - in fact most are as un-techy as it gets).

          So maybe 'forced' was the wrong word, but the group is very handy for real-time technical chat and problem solving, which can be important on jobbing work when there are hourly deadlines alongside random issues. Refusing to use it would jus

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

          This is in fact a very common way to use it. On a similar note, even people like emergency workers will often do quick co-ordination via WhatsApp group chats. I.e. "accident happened, how do we get everyone relevant in the same chat room in a minute so we can co-ordinate as efficiently as possible". Everyone knows some of the workers on the scene, but not all. So everyone has rights to add someone to the group, and in a few minutes, everyone relevant is in the room exchanging time critical information.

          It's

          • Sounds about right. Its just a shame it has to be proprietary. In the old days it would have been a protocol (remember RFCs - maybe they still exist, but its not something I hear anymore) and everyone would be welcome to build their own front ends. I mean, after all, the only thing that really makes them easier to use than older legacy systems is that its tied to your phone number, which is info that even old non-techies have stored in their contact lists and understand.

            Personally I think that rather than

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

              Telegram is open source I believe. There's even an open source client for it on f-droid.

              • Its not the status of the source code though, its the status of the protocol that matters. You should be able to use Telegram, Whatsapp, emacs, whatever, to connect to the open chat protocol - the client shouldn't matter (beyond whatever bells and whistles they want to add). I know that's not going to happen, but that principle is what allowed the internet to exist and grow in the first place.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

                  Again, you can do this. In fact, there are clients who do this.

                  They're utterly unsuccessful because that makes for a horrible user experience. Having a one clean, working protocol and one clean, predictable client across all user machines is the way to go because you want extreme predictability when it comes to communication.

                  And when everyone has exactly same capabilities and limitations, and when those capabilities and limitations fit overwhelming majority of people, you get a successful messenger software

                  • Again, you can do this. In fact, there are clients who do this.

                    How can there be clients that do this already do this when there is no standard protocol? Sure there are other chat clients, but they also use their own proprietary protocols. I can't use Signal to talk to Whatsapp.

                    They're utterly unsuccessful because that makes for a horrible user experience. Having a one clean, working protocol and one clean, predictable client across all user machines is the way to go because you want extreme predictability when it comes to communication.

                    So explain the success of email? Anyone can build an email client or server and as along as they follow the standards for messaging they can make the client as useable as they want. You can use command line for email if you want, or you can use one of many GUI based clients, it makes no differenc

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

                      >How can there be clients that do this already do this when there is no standard protocol?

                      There are countless standard protocols.

                      >So explain the success of email?

                      Far better than snail mail, the thing it replaced. Same reason email is increasingly less and less relevant for younger people. Example from above with first responders applies here. You can't lift bodies off the floor reliably when your fifty. Even in your fourties, it's going to be hard. But people in twenties and thirties who are in good p

                    • I'm sure one of my first comments stated it was a utopian dream, so we maybe don't disagree too much :).

                      I just think an attempt at interoperability could be a better option than say breaking up Facebook, since that just breaks the smell up into smaller chunks. It can be done in a number of ways. For example, you mentioned AIM so you might also remember the FCC forced interoperability on AIM back in the day, as a condition of its merger with Time Warner. That helped kill AOL as the default IM service. Where

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

                      I imagine we probably agree on most things. At least from what I've seen so far. I just think you overestimate the value of openness to both public and service providers.

                      And as it comes to "end of open internet" honestly, this depends on what you mean by open internet. If by that you mean free access to knowledge, that is likely ending. Between how China successfully closed pats of its internet to outsiders, and how so much communication moved to social media which now actively moderates normal interactions

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Malc ( 1751 )

        Some pubs here in the UK started using it this past summer to reduce the number of people going to the bar to order, table service being uncommon. Worked really well.

        [16:15, 31/07/2020] me: Hi - could we have the following for table âoepatio 1â: large glass Pinot Grigio, glass fresh orange juice with ice and a straw, and a pint of Black Sheep
        [16:18, 31/07/2020] Old Lodge bar: Thank you be with you shortly
        [16:48, 31/07/2020] me: Could I have another Black Sheep please?
        [16:53, 31/07/2020] Old Lodge

      • Re:They don't already? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Yo Grark ( 465041 ) on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @01:33PM (#60903716)

        I use it to communicate globally with people and with with auto-translate built in, it allows me to connect with people and serve their needs in their language.

        Haven't found:

        1) An app more in use by regular people that:
        2) Allows for auto-translate on the fly.

        So for me at least, it's about reaching people in a way they find comfortable communicating in to resolve technical issues remotely.

        Yo Grark

      • My work team uses WhatsApp for team chat. If you are off sick you need to WhatsApp your boss
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I suppose there will be a change to the Apple's app store rules quite soon. So you can't download WhatsApp anymore unless the full functionality is there if you don't agree to any sharing.

  • This new policy should ease advocacy in favor of alternatives...

  • is to switch to Signal. Anything that becomes part of the FB ecosystem can automatically be assumed to be snooping on you. I'm sure that the WhatsApp founders are horrified at the change in the TOS. After all, they did introduce encryption as a core part of the application from the get go.

    I think that Apple, and to a lesser extent the government, have forced the hand of Facebook. They are now in a desperate scramble to hoover up any and all private data before either being broken up or otherwise forced to c

  • Mandatory? (Score:3)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @10:05AM (#60902978)

    Uh you can always choose to ditch WhatsApp.

    • Yeah good luck with that. As another poster pointed out, the network effect is pretty strong. In some places in the world WhatsApp is pretty dominant and you'd basically cut yourself off if you get off it.

  • I wonder what Facebook is thinking (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ambassador Kosh ( 18352 ) on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @10:12AM (#60902996)

    The EU recently changed rules to make it easier to regulate social media companies and some of the behavior they are looking is tying services together and the EU and USA are already looking to breaking up Facebook and forcing it to divest operations.

    It seems like Facebook is doing the exact thing that has regulators worried the most and will just be used against them in an antitrust case.

    I expect that Facebook will be regulated in the EU or forced to divest the EU part of their company and the services split up to smaller companies. In the USA it also looks like Facebook is facing a major antitrust challenge.

    All of this is caused by Facebooks own behavior. They don't show up to testify, just pay fines instead of turning over data to courts etc. They act like they are above the law and that is just a dumb movie. In the EU at least the regulators are not talking about breaking up YouTube just requiring them to be a bit better at removing certain types of content once they are notified the content is not allowed.

    • ...They don't show up to testify, just pay fines instead of turning over data to courts etc. They act like they are above the law and that is just a dumb movie.

      Uh, "act" like?

      I'd say they're doing it. And doing it very successfully.

      And don't assume they don't have the political clout to continue paying slap-on-the-wrist fines to continue business as usual.

      • The new fines (passed a few weeks ago) are now based on worldwide global gross revenue in order to go after these huge companies. The next fine they face is not going to be small.

        The EU seems to be tiring of Facebook rapidly.

  • The best part of this change is that almost nobody will change their behavior. Soon every company will detail their horrible data sharing arrangements and find out that users, even if they care, won't change behavior. As a friends mom said when we explained how a coupon app was abusing them, "But I want the coupons. How else do I get them if I don't allow the app?"

  • Even stickers are available.

    Just throwing that out there.

    Don't follow every meme/FlappyBird/Zoom out there. If you are a business and use WhatsApp, you might aswell just sell you business to Facebook. Everything you say and do will be used against you, make no mistake.
    And this proves their encryption was always just security theater. Signal can't share your data, even if they wanted.

  • Sounds like iMessage for Android.

  • Can I get some Slashdot-favored alternatives that are well-suited for "normal" folks?

    My wife is wanting something that she can recommend to a group of about twelve, mostly tech-illiterate grandmothers that adopted WhatsApp at her suggestion back before it was/they were aware it was connected to Facebook. The group has become increasingly distrustful of the app in the last few years, with one lady already departing due to the app's connection to Facebook. I suspect that with the right nudge they'll jump ship

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by deep2k ( 640705 )
      Sigal is what you are looking for. It has a decent UI very similar to WhatsApp. You can look each other up by phone number (no need to exchange keys via a side channel.) Maximum group size is 150.

    • My wife and I have been using Telegram for close to eight years now (I think). She uses with her mother is who is almost 80, and we use it with quite a few folks who are not technologically savy. Telegram does have groups. Telegram is quite easy to use.

    • Signal its the better option, privacy wise. But mostly tech-illiterate people prolly like Telegram more.

    • I'm a fan of how flexible Discord is. Good for everything from one-on-one to thousands of people.

      Chat works like any other and you can drop pictures in-line. But you can move to voice chat with a click, and video chat with another click.

      For larger groups it's nice to be able to have dedicated topical channels. With one group of friends one of them is deployed overseas, and we've got his deployment adventures (mostly airport delays and quarantines) in their own channel. That lets the rest of us keep the bant

    • Signal, Telegram, and Viber are all good choices. My favourite is Viber [viber.com] as I find that it's easiest to use but that can be a personal thing. I've found that Viber tends to be popular in Europe but not many other places. I would recommend checking it out at least to compare it with the others.

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