New rules postponed: Whatsapp courts migrated users

After an announcement of new privacy policies, users are running away from Whatsapp in droves. To stop this exodus, the market leader is postponing the introduction of the controversial new rules. The messenger service sees itself as a victim of false information.

The messenger service Whatsapp is postponing the introduction of new privacy rules by a good three months following criticism and an exodus of users. Previously, users were supposed to agree to the new terms by Feb. 8 if they wanted to continue using the chat service, which belongs to Facebook. Now the new privacy policy should only apply from May 15, Whatsapp announced.

According to Whatsapp, the changes are primarily about creating better opportunities for communication with companies. The end-to-end encryption, with which chat content is only visible in plain text to the participating users, but not even to Whatsapp itself, will not be changed. It is also not about an extended data forwarding to Facebook. Outside the EU, WhatsApp user data flows to Facebook for advertising purposes or to improve products - but already since 2016.

Competitors are pleased about the strong influx of users

Whatsapp is the world's most successful chat service with more than two billion users, followed by Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion). In recent weeks, WhatsApp rivals such as the trusted messenergs Signal and Threema or the not so secure messenger Telegram had reported a strong influx - because users left Whatsapp after the announcement of the new privacy policy. Whatsapp complained about the spread of false information about it, which they want to clear out more by mid-May.

Swiss messenger provider Threema said a few days ago that its daily download numbers had "multiplied" since last Friday. "In the app stores in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Threema is number 1 in the app charts for paid apps," a spokesperson said. Telegram reported Tuesday it had added about 25 million new users within 72 hours. According to the app's founder Pawel Durow, the platform currently boasts around 500 million monthly active users. Messenger service Signal also benefited from a recommendation by Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO wrote on Twitter last Thursday, "Use Signal." After that, the Signal servers for registering new customers went down under the onslaught. Signal immediately expanded its resources to accommodate the increased customer volume.

Security experts have advised against using WhatsApp since long:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/10/where-whatsapp-went-wrong-effs-four-biggest-security-concerns
and
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2020/02/29/whatsapp-security-is-this-hidden-flaw-a-new-reason-to-leave/

An up-to-date assessment of the development can be read here:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/01/its-business-usual-whatsapp

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