The recent WhatsApp Policy change has forced users to agree to its new Terms and Services to Continue using the app causing a stir among the users. The instant messaging app is prompting to either accept them otherwise you will lose access to your account. However, this change will come into effect starting next month that is February 8 but the users are already worried about their personal data and they have already started quitting the app and moving to its rival Telegram and Signal.
Also, Tesla CEO Elon Musk in his tweet urged people to use Signal. So today we are here to help you understand which one you should go for in order to safeguard your privacy.
Since the announcement of the new WhatsApp Policy the users have become anxious as the Terms and Service clearly mentions that the user’s data will be shared with Facebook and its subsidiaries. To this, the user are migrating bases to Signal and Telegram. Both the app are rivals of WhatsApp and they are seeing huge waves of new users after the WhatsApp Policy change announcement.
In a FAQ section, WhatsApp has also detailed the information-sharing policy with Facebook and its products which says, “The information we share with the other Facebook Companies includes your account registration information (such as your phone number), transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address, and may include other information identified in the Privacy Policy section entitled ‘Information We Collect’ or obtained upon notice to you or based on your consent,”
So below is a list of a complete analysis of what data is collected by which app whether it is WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram. According to the information we collected from the app store following data will be collected and linked to your identity:
- WhatsApp
Device ID
Advertising Data
Purchase History
Coarse Location
Contact Info- Phone number, Email Address
User content
User ID
Product Interaction
Crash Data
Performance Data
Other Diagnostic Data
Payment Info
Contacts
Customer Support
Other User Content - Facebook Messenger
Purchase History
Other Financial Info
Location- Precise Location and Coarse Location
Contact Info- Physical Address, Email Address, Name, Phone Number and other User Contact Info
Contacts
User Content- Photos or Videos, Gameplay Content and Other User Content
Search History
Browsing History
User ID
Device ID
Product Interaction
Advertising Data
Other Usage Data
Sensitive Info
iMessage - Signal
According to Signal, only the user’s phone number may be collected as a part of data that may not be linked to your identity. - Telegram
Whereas the following data is collected by Telegram and linked to your identity:
Contact Info- Name and Phone Number
Contacts
User ID
However, this should be noted that this information has not been verified by Apple and has been submitted by the app developer only. Apparently, we have also seen a rise in new sign-ups to Signal and is widely being used by journalists, lawyers, politicians, security experts, activists and more across the globe. The best thing about this app is that it is a nonprofit organization and is not linked to any company. The second important thing is that everything is encrypted from your profile photo, voice and video calls, photos, attachments, stickers to location pins. It also does send secured backups of your chats and your contacts on your device. It also does not prevent other apps from seeing what you are typing and that feature is the Incognito Keyboard option. And from our opinion Signal is probably the best app that will not only ensure your privacy but can never be acquired by any company as it is a nonprofit organisation, unlike WhatsApp.
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