WhatsApp will soon no longer work on some Android smartphones -
Geeko
WhatsApp said last week that it was going to change its terms of service (T & Cs) to allow the Facebook group to access certain data collected on the messaging service.
Under fire from critics, the application decided on Friday evening to postpone by three months the entry into force of its new conditions of use.
A great many users have already decided to quit the application, to turn to other secure messaging services.
The announcement was a bombshell for email users.
The WhatsApp application said last week that it was going to modify its general conditions of use (T & Cs) to allow the Facebook group [its parent company] to access certain data collected on the messaging service.
The two billion users of the application will therefore be forced to accept this update to the terms of use, otherwise they will no longer be able to access their account.
This sudden decision sparked a lot of reactions, and serious concerns from users.
Under fire from critics after the announcement of this change in their regulations, WhatsApp decided Friday evening to postpone by three months the entry into force of its new terms of use.
The changes, which were to be applied on February 8, will not be effective until May 15.
The messaging platform therefore seeks today to reassure users about the protection of their personal data.
But for many of them it is unfortunately too late.
"Upon receipt of the WhatsApp notification [January 7], all of my family has switched to another messaging," explains Michel, a
20 Minutes
reader
who responded to our call for testimonials.
Understand everything about the new regulations of Whatsapp https://t.co/N0GDWjBzhJ
- 20 Minutes (@ 20Minutes) January 10, 2021
"No confidence in Facebook since the Cambridge Analytica scandal"
The personal data that could be shared between the entities of the Facebook group concerns the registration information of your account, your phone number, your name, your profile picture, your status, your contacts, your data of the transactions carried out from the application or your IP address.
"Already chilled by the fact that this application had been bought by Facebook, upon learning of this additional risk of recovering sensitive data, I decided to quickly migrate to a more secure messaging system that respects the privacy of its users", explains
20 Minutes
Dany.
Like him, many users who feel that their privacy has been violated have decided to quit messaging.
“I have no faith in Facebook and its handling of personal data since the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
I was on WhatsApp not to use Facebook Messenger and not to share my contact list and my chat networks with Facebook.
Now that he threatens to recover this data anyway with an ultimatum, well it's time to change and go towards alternatives that have been proven, ”Winston explains today.
“In addition to sharing data with Facebook, the WhatsApp application is basically very intrusive in phone data (Web history, installed apps, etc.),” Denis also recalls.
Many also fear that they will be overwhelmed by a whole bunch of targeted advertising.
"What worries me is to be more invaded by advertising in my mailboxes", fears Jacques, who has not yet made up his mind to leave the application.
"The most serious being the Web version of WhatsApp used on computers which, if we accept these conditions, would open the floodgates of an army of tracking cookies to Facebook", storm on his side François.
"I'm already having trouble unsubscribing from certain advertisers by SMS, it's not so that a private messaging force me to undergo the same thing!"
This culture of advertising is deeply abnormal ”, also protests Pierre, computer engineer.
"Our data is already scattered across the web"
For some, wanting to preserve the confidentiality of their personal data is a losing battle.
“In any case, our data is already scattered all over the web,” explains Muriel, reader of
20 Minutes
.
“Apple, Google, Facebook have already collected all the data concerning me for a long time… It would be hypocritical to be offended with WhatsApp now.
From the moment you are online, anyway, you have to accept that nothing is really private anymore.
And therefore pay attention to what we say, and what we share.
Not sure that the alternatives are more secure, or that they will not be redeemed in a few months by a Gafa, ”abounds Laurent, who has therefore decided not to leave WhatsApp.
Like many users who have decided to slam the door, some have therefore decided to stay loyal to mobile messaging.
"These changes do not concern European individuals, so no I do not intend to delete WhatsApp for the moment", also points out rightly Christophe.
European users will not be subject to the same rules as other users around the world.
"Only professional uses, that is to say with companies that use messaging as a channel to communicate with their customers, will be subject in Europe to this data sharing", confirms to
20 Minutes
Me Merav Griguer, lawyer and teacher at Sciences-Po and Assas, specializing in the protection of personal data.
"But in all cases, it will still be necessary to accept the new conditions of use".
"I switched to Telegram, and even if WhatsApp changed its mind, it wouldn't change anything"
Like Elon Musk, the iconic boss of Tesla, many WhatsApp users have expressed their intentions to migrate to other platforms.
“I didn't necessarily intend to quit WhatsApp, but most of the groups where I am present have already migrated to Signal (family, friends…) at the instigation of two or three people each time.
It was done very easily, and people easily followed, ”explains Ewen.
"Transfers to Signal are underway, and all of my entourage is doing the same: my dozen best friends, my parents, my uncles, aunts, cousins ...", adds Myriam.
“I was won over by Signal's speed, its unique functions, the possibility of using it on various devices at the same time (cloud based), sending files up to 2GB without compression, the security (secret messaging end-to-end encrypted) and its non-membership of Gafam ”, also indicates Denis.
Boom of the Signal app after the announcement of new rules by WhatsApp https://t.co/RnVquF7CuW
- 20 Minutes (@ 20Minutes) January 10, 2021
Signal messaging, considered by specialists as one of the most secure apps on the market, has been at the top of downloads for a week in France, Germany, India and Hong Kong.
Other secure messengers, like Telegram, are also doing well. “I asked my contacts to switch to Telegram, which I was already using.
And even if WhatsApp changed its mind, given the bleeding caused by their ad, that wouldn't change a thing.
Telegram now exceeds 500 million subscribers, and Signal has grown by 6.300% ”,
explains Heremoana, who indicates having received a message from Telegram, "thanking her" for having migrated her contacts to their application.
"The recent statements from WhatsApp on the postponement of the entry into force of the new conditions in May will not change anything, I like the idea of a messaging independent of the Facebook nebula which will end up monetizing anyway. data from WhatsApp users, including in Europe, ”adds Pascal.
In any case, “the next time a group wants to impose this kind of practice, it will perhaps pay a little more attention to the TOS.
Bye bye WhatsApp!
".
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