Name: WhatsApp says you shouldn't worry about it sharing personal data with Facebook. Experts say you should switch to 'highly trusted' Signal.
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WhatsApp says you shouldn't worry about it sharing personal data with Facebook. Experts say you should switch to 'highly trusted' Signal.

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Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowGet the latest tech news &amp; scoops — delivered daily to your inbox.Something is loading.After a change to its terms of service sparked privacy concerns among users, WhatsApp on Monday clarified that its new policy doesn't affect the privacy of people's messages with friends or family.The messenger app, which sells itself as a privacy focused service, will next month force its users to agree to let Facebook and its subsidiaries , including phone numbers and locations.&nbsp;If users don't accept the new terms and conditions by February 8, they will be kicked off the app.WhatsApp said in a Monday that it wanted to address "rumours going around," saying the policy update, which takes effect on February 8, "does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way."This subsequently led to WhatsApp rivals, and , seeing millions of users flocking to their apps. They hit the number one spots on on Wednesday, and Signal got Elon Musk's approval with one : "Use Signal."So, should WhatsApp users really be worried about these new privacy changes?&nbsp;Experts told Insider that WhatsApp will not be sharing any content of messages because they are encrypted. But the app will be able to access the metadata – in other words, who messages whom, when, and from where.Alan Woodward, a computer scientist at the University of Surrey, told Insider that the mere fact WhatsApp is sharing any sort of personal data with Facebook is concerning as "Facebook openly says that their business model is to use data related to users for profit."Woodward, who prefers to use Signal rather than WhatsApp, said he was surprised when he saw the news because Facebook said it wouldn't collect data from WhatsApp when it took over the messaging app in 2014.Although privacy-minded people will most likely turn to apps like Signal, Woodward thinks "there is a large enough cadre of WhatsApp users that one is probably going to have to continue to use it to stay in touch with them."&nbsp;He also suspects that users will stick with WhatsApp because they will "accept the social contract with Facebook that they can use the platform as long as they share data in return for it being free."Professor Eerke Boiten, director of the cyber technology institute at De Montfort University in Leicester, told Insider giving users an ultimatum on accepting the new terms is "the worst thing WhatsApp has done."That's probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, he said.WhatsApp's promise of only letting the policy affect messages sent to business accounts is "potentially a more limited privacy violation," according to Boiten. But it depends on whether Facebook "keep control of this access method."Boiten said he expects data, especially contacts and communication metadata, will be shared "whenever and wherever [Facebook and WhatsApp] can get away with it."&nbsp;Both Boiten and Woodword said they'd recommend users switch to safer, alternative messaging apps. "Signal is highly trusted," Boiten said, adding that Telegram has also "upped its game" in the encryption field.&nbsp;Wolfie Christl, a researcher and privacy advocate at Cracked Labs, also joins the chorus of WhatsApp critics who recommend users switch to Signal. His reasoning is that the app is "run by a nonprofit organization and its source code is publicly available for people to examine."The week starting January 4, Signal had 7.5 million downloads, a 4,200% increase on the previous week. Telegram, had 9 million downloads, a 91% increase."The more people join such services, the safer people who really need to have such services become," Boiten added.Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know.Subscribe to push notificationsAn icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.Keep readingIt indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.Redeem nowGet the latest tech news &amp; scoops — delivered daily to your inbox.Something is loading.After a change to its terms of service sparked privacy concerns among users, WhatsApp on Monday clarified that its new policy doesn't affect the privacy of people's messages with friends or family.The messenger app, which sells itself as a privacy focused service, will next month force its users to...

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Kate Duffy

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WhatsApp says you shouldn't worry about it sharing personal data with Facebook. Experts say you should switch to 'highly trusted' Signal.

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