WhatsApp has shocked its users with new terms and conditions that will see its parent company, Facebook, collect more usage data from its base of 2-billion accounts, prompting people to consider alternative platforms.
Consumers around the world have become increasingly wary about how much data is collected by large tech firms, especially Google, Facebook and Amazon, which use the information to sell advertising, their main source of revenue.
But with more than 2-billion monthly active users, according to Facebook, WhatsApp has become the most widely used instant messaging mobile app in the world. In SA, the app has become ubiquitous for personal interactions as well as business communication, so much so that mobile operators often offer special promotions and data bundles for the platform.
The update
As part of the update this week, WhatsApp said it would be sharing details such as users’ phone numbers, user content, usage data, other people’s phone numbers stored in address books, profile names, profile pictures, status messages, when users are online, diagnostic data from app logs, purchases, financial information and location information, with Facebook and its group of companies.
The move comes just a few months after Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg appeared before US authorities as part of a wide-ranging antitrust case against big tech companies Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple.
WhatsApp said the information collection is about “improving infrastructure and delivery systems”, and enhancing the “service experience” by delivering personalised content around purchases and transactions.
What will be interesting to see is whether this apparent invasion of user privacy or the threat of handing over even more personal information to WhatsApp will be enough to make people leave the platform in enough numbers to make the company reconsider its position.
Services such as WhatsApp, together with Facebook and its other properties, such as Messenger and Instagram, are free for users. In the online environment, this usually means user data and the content generated on these platforms is the actual product that companies can sell, typically to advertisers.
It is perhaps this convenience that would keep people hooked on these platforms, even as more data is mined for commercial purposes.
If a person commuting to and from work each day wants the ability to avoid traffic and find the most efficient routes, they have to let Google know where they live, where they work, and the time they leave and return home each day. This is already a lot of information the company knows about a person. Multiply that by the billions of people who use Google Maps across the world and you have possibly the most comprehensive map, city guide and traffic alert system ever created.
Is society ready to move away from this convenience and is the latest move enough to drive people away from WhatsApp?
Arthur Goldstuck, technology analyst and MD at World Wide Worx, does not think so. “Most users, who initially react with alarm, will eventually settle down into the new, more noisy normal as they are targeted based on the topics they read about or discuss. It is scandalous, but no worse than the experience of using multiple Google products, such as Google Search, Android, Gmail, and Chrome,”
Goldstuck noted that WhatsApp’s privacy policy used to start with the line: “Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA.” He said the line being removed “speaks volumes about Facebook’s attitude to its users. WhatsApp’s anti-advertising and pro-privacy roots have always been a thorn in the side of its Facebook owners”.
Alternatives to WhatsApp
For those looking to jump ship, both Android and Apple’s iOS are awash with alternatives, but the main contenders are Signal, Telegram, WeChat and iMessage.
Apple has been firm about privacy and not exploiting user data for profit. Its iMessage service is fully encrypted but has the drawback of being available only on its devices, such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Like iMessage, Signal and Telegram are also rated highly for privacy and encryption. WeChat, operated by Tencent, in which Naspers has a 31.2% stake through its internet division Prosus, is the most popular messaging service in China.
The biggest hurdle for these competing services is low rates of adoption compared to WhatsApp, especially in the local market. For example, through Naspers, WeChat once tried to gain a foothold in the SA market by targeting university students, and even becoming a way to vote on the Idols television show on DStv. Despite the investment locally, the service failed to gain enough users to compete effectively with WhatsApp.
“Switching to Signal or Telegram will reduce the extent to which one company is able to link many of your activities, but it is not going to make a big difference in the overall landscape,” said Goldstuck.
Spotlight on Facebook
Facebook is no stranger to controversy and is used to pushing people’s buttons.
This latest move comes at a time when US authorities are considering breaking up Facebook and its subsidiaries into separate companies, saying it has become too large and has the ability to stop other small players from competing.
“Facebook is already under close scrutiny from the US government for antitrust behaviour,” said Goldstuck. “This change will provide powerful ammunition to those who want to reduce its dominance of social media and instant messaging. Facebook could well be shooting itself in the foot in its relentless pursuit of revenue at all costs.”
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