People desert WhatsApp over fears personal data will now be shared with Facebook after users alerted to new changes
DROVES of people are reportedly ditching WhatsApp for its rival apps after users were told they must share sensitive personal data with Facebook — or have their account frozen until they agree to do so.
Millions of users of have jumped ship to Telegram and Signal in the past week amid fears over their privacy, according to data analytics firm Sensor Tower.
WhatsApp, which uses Signal's encryption technology, laid out fresh terms on Wednesday, asking users to agree to let owner Facebook Inc and its subsidiaries collect user data in the US. Otherwise, they would lose access to their accounts.
This includes account information like your phone number, logs of how long and how often you use WhatsApp, information about how you interact with other users.
Other data that could be shared are device identifiers, and other device details like IP address, operating system, browser details, battery health information, app version, mobile network, language and time zone.
But privacy activists questioned the "accept our data grab or get out" move on Twitter, and suggested users to switch to apps like Signal and Telegram.
We’ve updated our policy to be transparent
WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart
In the wake of the new terms of conditions, Twitter has been awash with people stating they were deserting WhatsApp.
One said: "I have uninstalled Whatsapp and start using Telegram.
"Highly recommended for privacy seekers."
Another said: "Starting in Feb, WhatsApp will begin sharing all kinds of data with Facebook.
"They just killed their best feature — privacy."
Elon Musk, who has one of the most followed accounts on Twitter, advised: "Use Signal."
More than 100,000 users installed Signal across the app stores of Apple and Google after the data sharing announcement. It is now the world's top free app.
Meanwhile, Telegram picked up nearly 2.2 million downloads, according to data analytics firm Sensor Tower.
'WHATSAPP BEING MONETISED'
But new installs of WhatsApp fell 11 per cent in the first seven days of 2021 compared with the week before, although it still amounted to an estimated 10.5 million downloads globally, Sensor Tower said.
Facebook reportedly aims to monetise WhatsApp by allowing businesses to contact their clients via the platform, even sell them products directly using the service as they already do in India.
A spokesperson said."Privacy policy and terms updates are common in the industry and we're providing users with ample notice to review the changes, which go into effect on February 8th.
"All users need to accept the new terms of service if they want to continue using WhatsApp.”
The policies have been blasted as 'draconian' and some people are now switching to rival app Signal.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told The Sun: "There are no changes to WhatsApp’s data sharing practices in the European region (including UK) arising from the updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
"For the avoidance of any doubt, it is still the case that WhatsApp does not share European region WhatsApp user data with Facebook for the purpose of Facebook using this data to improve its products or advertisements."
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Following the fury about the data sharing, WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart took to .
He said: "I want to share how committed everyone is to providing private communication for two billion people around the world.
"At our core, that’s the ability to message or call loved ones freely protected by end-to-end encryption and that’s not changing.
"With end-to-end encryption, we cannot see your private chats or calls and neither can Facebook.
"We’re committed to this technology and committed to defending it globally.
"We’ve updated our policy to be transparent and to better describe optional people-to-business features.
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"We wrote about it in October -- this includes commerce on WhatsApp and the ability for people to message a business."
This message has been appearing on WhatsApp on Apple and Android phones in the US
