KARACHI:
WhatsApp users around the world are more confused than ever before. In a recent privacy update, the company has decided to introduce some new policies which would allegedly allow them to share user information like users’ status, smartphone details, location, internet, phone numbers and IP addresses to their parent company, Facebook. However, in a recent announcement, WhatsApp clarified that the update doesn’t affect the privacy of messages with friends and family, and instead relates to business messages only. They claimed that new policies were aimed at providing “further transparency about how [they] collect and use data”.
Since then, many have asserted that WhatsApp is skillfully trying to hide this consented breach of user privacy by playing with words, while others claim that these changes have been made so that US intelligence agencies can gather excessive data for nationalistic purposes. In light of this, many have now reverted to more secure applications such as Signal, Threema and Telegram as an alternative. A digital rights expert has further suggested not to put up a status or picture if one needs to protect their identity.
It is rather surprising that even during the technological age, many are still unaware that by accepting the terms and conditions of any application you are actively giving them consent to their own guidelines. Therefore, before using an application, it is important that people read the policies at least once.
Muhammad Bakhtiyar
Kech
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2021.
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