New whatsapp privacy policy - what does it mean for users

[kbhuvi]

Hi everyone.
Greetings of the day. Hope everyone is good during these difficult times.

With the new policy that whatsapp will be sharing data with its parents. I have heard it both ways that there is no need to be afraid as well as that facebook wants to peep into your bank account and wants to know how you spend the money.

Any idea how much negatively will this new policy affect us?

Regards

 

[arj]

From what I could read -https://gadgetstouse.com/blog/2021/01/08/hidden-secrets-of-whatsapp-new-data-sharing-policy-with-facebook/

Am sure faceboook already knows more about us especially if you use a facebook app on the phone.

2. What Data is Collected by WhatsApp?​

WhatsApp collects a lot of data on your phone. This includes your phone’s make and model, its operating system, battery status, your time zone, signal strength, GPS location, and IP address. It also keeps track of how you use WhatsApp, followed by Group details, Profile pictures, and About Info.

Moreover, the giant also stores information about payments (for people who use WhatsApp Pay).

3. What Data is Shared with Facebook and Other Facebook Companies?​

As mentioned, almost everything collected by WhatsApp is now shared with Facebook and other Facebook companies. It also includes what you share on WhatsApp. The data can be used to bring you more personalized recommendations, ads, offers, and content on Facebook, Instagram, and others.

 

[kbhuvi]

I was never on facebook. No payment apps either. Only whatsapp. I was thinking of looking into some payment apps buts ...

 

[arj]

Then it does not change anything for you is what I would guess !

 

[sbg]

It still means everyone are still stupid and they continue to say "hey, take my money!" .
It still means, from our point of view, there are alternatives like Signal and Telegram.

summary of what it means

a news of recent celebrity tweets

 

[Nitin K]

Best is to avoid doing banking transactions on the phone & keep life simple by only installing the apps you need. Avoid keeping family photos or any photos for that matter & passwords on the phone since it is vey easy to lose the mobile phone too & fall in the wrong hands. A lot of malicious apps and programs are available which are made for prying into your phone or computers for information.

 

[Bhaskar Jyoti Talapatra]

A lot of alarming information for all of us. But now a days most of us use app based money transfer for convenience . It is OTP based so I have thought it to be secured! But looks that it is not so as it seems to be. Even personal or family photographs sharing may be dangerous? Then what should we do?

 

[arj]

There is no end..to be truly safe you need to stop using credit cards, android phones, google apps... Very soon one will be in an end of the world scenario in an isolated bunker with no grid

 

[kbhuvi]

An app may share anything. I am sharing an example of clock app in which it asks for permission to access your contacts and dialer. I could not establish why an app such as clock needs access to your contact or dialer. All call logs are available even after permission is denied. So what are the reasons for such permissions.

 

[Nitin K]

There is no end..to be truly safe you need to stop using credit cards, android phones, google apps... Very soon one will be in an end of the world scenario in an isolated bunker with no grid

As a matter of fact I use only a credit card instead of a debit card since the liability would be restricted to the credit limit & you are not responsible for the transactions you have not done. The human mind is indeed very devious if it wants to be...

 

[oldmonk]

At the end of 8 Feb - whatsapp and FB will know how many humans are trapped in their interconnected web.

Mr Arj's option is better if one thinks of it - outside the box ( er... web ) - have the courage to say NO and leave whatsapp.



For those of you interested - here is a nice link to read - its in Spanish but Google does a good job of translating.
( yes - there are good uses for these things too !! )

Vivimos en la Era de la Ignorancia (II/II): ¿Por qué los jóvenes son cada vez más ignorantes?

Un destacado poeta y profesor universitario ha notado una preocupante tendencia: los jóvenes que llegan a la universidad cada vez saben menos

pijamasurf.com

 

[Yogesh]

Better use Hike Messenger! WA/FB/IG consortium looks too scary.

P. S. I have no affiliations with it.

 

[arj]

Guys, maybe I am wrong but what do you think FB/google do to our data ? Mostly make ads more personalized based on what they can analyse. Which does not sound so scary to me

google has access to so much more via phone and mails !

There is credit card data/ aadhar etc avIlable out in so many sites which we put on which get hacked and sold for more dangerous purposes ! Not to mention the photocopies we send out !

 

[Ashenden]

I would be more interested in the security of the platform than worry about receiving interest based ads. As we are not paying for using the software/service, they need to monetize it in one way or the other. As mentioned above, our emails/search data on Microsoft/Google servers (from 10-15+ years) will contain a lot more sensitive data than the casual conversations we have on messaging platforms. If these services get hacked, then the user information profiles also will be available for exploit (which I guess has already happened, going by the barrage of Spam calls and texts, we get now)

Banking: I think using smartphones (which receives regular security updates) for banking and payment is a better option than manually entering sensitive information every single time we make a purchase, as bio-metric authentication on the mobile device would be a lot more secure than assuming there aren't any malware installed on the PC.

 

[oldmonk]

our data

Key words...

For example...Would you be comfortable for HFV forum data to be shared with other parties ?

Did we sign up for this ?

Social media networks are commercial in nature so the word social media is a misnomer in that sense.

Cross platform sharing of data invades privacy and it's a big concern IMO as much as those pesky telecallers who call you for things you did not sign up for.

 

[Barun7]

I have not opened Facebook in the last 8 months and since I never opened it more than twice a month, I sometimes think of deactivating the app altogether. But, for some of us, there is no way usage of WhatsApp can be stopped - due to professional obligation! But yes it can be minimised. And the privacy policy is like an open secret since Facebook and WhatsApp are branches of the same tree. Maybe they have got hit by a lawsuit somewhere and proactively declaring this policy! Not much changes for us. It was there, it is there and it will be there.
It still is beyond my understanding why an app like calendar or calculator would require 10 other permissions. Problem is, all our contacts might not think in the same line. Also, whenever one is online for any reason, he/she is vulnerable for xyz reasons.

P.S. - blessed to use a Xperia phone where apart from the stock bare minimum apps, I have been able to do with only 7-8 more absolutely necessary apps installed.

 

[Nitin K]

Guys, maybe I am wrong but what do you think FB/google do to our data ? Mostly make ads more personalized based on what they can analyse. Which does not sound so scary to me

google has access to so much more via phone and mails !

There is credit card data/ aadhar etc avIlable out in so many sites which we put on which get hacked and sold for more dangerous purposes ! Not to mention the photocopies we send out !

You are absolutely right about google. They have the maximum data of everyone here.
Another supposedly good search engine is Duck Duck Go. They claim they do not invade into people's privacy or keep tabs on them. But then in the digital world you really cannot trust anyone.

 

[jammyr]

FB twitter act like bigwigs suspending trump's account . they have no business to interfere in political opinions

 

[tusharshukla1991]

Best is to avoid doing banking transactions on the phone & keep life simple by only installing the apps you need. Avoid keeping family photos or any photos for that matter & passwords on the phone since it is vey easy to lose the mobile phone too & fall in the wrong hands. A lot of malicious apps and programs are available which are made for prying into your phone or computers for information.

I guess everyone knows about this, but in today's world it's on practical.
Atleast for me, phone is my office, camera, tv and music player.
I am using, telegram as well but i guess we all know why we use telegram these days.
I don't think whatsapp (or any app for that matter) can se replaced soon.

We are having this discussion because whatsapp is giving an option to reject the terms for time being, otherwise most of us would have simply accepted and got on with our lives

 

[Nitin K]

I guess everyone knows about this, but in today's world it's on practical.
Atleast for me, phone is my office, camera, tv and music player.
I am using, telegram as well but i guess we all know why we use telegram these days.
I don't think whatsapp (or any app for that matter) can se replaced soon.

We are having this discussion because whatsapp is giving an option to reject the terms for time being, otherwise most of us would have simply accepted and got on with our lives

At the most one can do is just be cautious as much as you can. One cannot escape the digital era, but to adapt to it in the safest way possible.
Whatsapp is one thing but with Aadhar details being hacked online is much more serious and you are totally susceptible.