The Singal encrypted messaging application sees an influx of new users signing up for its service following an update to WhatsApp’s privacy policy held by Facebook and an opinion from Elon Musk on Twitter.
As Ars Technica reports, Signal has seen so many new registered users that there have been delays in checking the phone number of new accounts.
IN CONNECTION: WHATSAPP MAKES DATA PARTICULATION WITH FACEBOOK MANDATORY
Confusion about updating WhatsApp privacy policy
It all started when WhatsApp highlighted a new privacy policy that will take effect next month. Compared to previous policies, the new one does not contain any indication that it will allow users to give up data sharing with the parent company Facebook.
Instead, the policy directly states that WhatsApp will share data (including your phone number, profile name, and calendar information) with Facebook.
“As part of the Facebook family of companies, WhatsApp receives information from this family of companies and shares information with them,” the new Privacy policy say.
“We may use the information we receive from them and they may use the information we share with them to assist in the operation, provision, improvement, understanding, personalization, support and marketing of our Services and their offerings.” keep going.
Now, Facebook employees have gone so far as to compete with the social media platform Twitter to say that, in fact, nothing has changed.
2/5 It has been incorrectly reported that the latest updates to the WhatsApp Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy require users in the European region to accept the exchange of data with Facebook for advertising purposes in order to continue using the service. This is false.
– Niamh Sweeney (@NiamhSweeneyNYC) January 7, 2021
However, several posters responded to Niamh Sweeney’s thread above, claiming that they had deleted their WhatsApp accounts.
Signal’s Elon endorsement
About the same time, Elon Musk, who has been criticizing Facebook lately, wrote on Twitter “Use the signal” to 41.6 million followers.
Use the signal
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
Musk, who was recently announced to be the richest man in the world as well mail a meme that satirizes Facebook’s role in this week’s attack on Congress.
All of this seems to have had a cumulative effect, resulting in millions of users leaving WhatsApp for Signal, a non-profit service focused on privacy co-founded and funded by Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp who left the company when he was disappointed with Facebook’s privacy practices.
Verification codes are currently delayed for many vendors because so many new people are trying to join Signal now (we can barely register our enthusiasm). We work with carriers to resolve this as soon as possible. Stand there.
– Signal (@signalapp) January 7, 2021
As The Verge points out that WhatsApp has released a lengthy statement saying that the policy update does not actually change the way data is shared between the messaging app and Facebook.
It now seems that years of shady practices, symbolized by the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018, could come to a head, many users leaving WhatsApp permanently.