WhatsApp’s privacy policy has been the talk of the week and while the Facebook-owned app faces backlash, its competitors’ Telegram and Signal are on the up. Signal, in particular, has been the biggest beneficiary of WhatsApp’s recent privacy “scandal”.
The app has recorded its best-ever week with 7.5 million downloads on the App Store and Google’s Play Store globally. To put that number into perspective that’s 43 times the amount of downloads Signal had just last week. Telegram has benefitted too with 5.6 million downloads globally according to Apptopia.
For those who may not have read WhatsApps new privacy policy and are wondering why people are flocking to Telegram and Signal. Here are the highlights:
Sharing your data with Facebook is now mandatory
This new privacy policy is much the same as the ones that have come before. The only difference is that now you can’t opt-out of sharing your WhatsApp information with Facebook and it’s family of apps.
What information will be shared with Facebook
For those who are concerned about Facebook reading your messages, rest easy because your messages are encryted. WhatsApp itself cant read your messages but by using Whats app you may be sharing your:
- Contact list
- Location
- Usage data
- Financial information (among others)
It’s all about the ads
So many of you may be wondering why Facebook wants with your information and the answer is ads. In a report by Bloomberg, Facebook’s Q2 earnings in 2020 (US$21.5 billion) were in large part due to ads.
WhatsApp doesn’t have ads so Facebook wants to use the data gathered there to funnel you targetted adds on Facebook and instagram.
You should check out: Cool your jets Telegram and Signal, Zimbos are never leaving WhatsApp
Cover Image Credit: Tech Times
