Recently, the popular messaging service WhatsApp had it stormy worse. The reason is the push they have made to get all users to accept the new changes to the terms, which in turn is an “ultimatum” to accept, otherwise they may not use the service anymore. WhatsApp has already been acquired by Facebook and there are many indications that the changes in the terms are one of several steps for sharing data within Facebook’s various services. Those who we “go stealth” and who are tired of sharing data without control over where and how it is used, are increasingly turning to other platforms such as Signal.
What the consequences are for WhatsApp in the end and for us end users remain unclear, except that it is obvious that data (especially background data / metadata) will be shared further. Facebook has been plowing down tons of cash in recent days to combat all rumors and details, and will surely continue. I myself use many social services and like many others, we trust that these will handle our personal data with “care”. In exchange for efficient and user-friendly services, so we give away hard currency in the form of our personal data, is it worth it? How will we really know the truth?
Forbes has summarized a good overview of all metadata linked to you as a user that is shared between some known services, probably information you did not want to know or get presented so clearly but yes, thanks in any case Forbes!
What is true, however, is what has happened, and it is the large increase in new users that has stormed the messaging service Signal to the point that the service was completely down for almost 1.5 days very recently. Now it has recovered with the explanation that they could not handle the unexpectedly large increase in new users in such a short time. Hopefully they are aware of the situation now and can handle even more millions of new users as the smoke has not yet settled around WhatsApp’s being or not being.
