Here's how to stop WhatsApp sharing your data with Facebook
Mobile messaging service WhatsApp will now begin sharing subscriber data with parent Facebook, giving advertisers better access to information on WhatsApp's one billion-strong user base.The latest change – announced on the official company blog – marks a dramatic change for the hugely-successful messaging service.Under the new changes, Facebook is able to see the phone number that people have associated with their WhatsApp account.
WhatsApp data sharing with Facebook: The official blog post that shows why people are so angry at messaging app
It was a quotation that WhatsApp's creators probably regret.Sat at the top of a blog post from 2012, and taken from Fight Club, it read: "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need".Until this week, it had been a vital way of understanding WhatsApp's approach to ads: it just didn't have them, and committed never to do so.
How to stop WhatsApp from sharing your data with Facebook
Rose Behar August 31, 2016 8:50amIn a move that outraged many of its users, WhatsApp recently updated its terms of service to begin sharing a limited amount of user data with Facebook."By coordinating more with Facebook, we'll be able to do things like track basic metrics regarding how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp," said the company in a blog post, adding that by connecting a phone number, the social media platform can offer better friend suggestions and show more relevant ads.While the messaging app's post portrays the change as only beneficial to users, it seems at odds with its long-held and often stringent commitment to privacy, as evidenced by a blog post from 2014 when the company was acquired by Facebook.
Comments
Post a Comment