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"It is really creepy that WhatsApp has installed their status at the top of my contacts to assure me that all is well."
This and many other complaints in the same breath have been floating around this past week, with WhatsApp users unsure if they should buy into the assurances or continue seeking refuge in other messaging Apps.
WhatsApp's first three Status stories focused on the company's new privacy policy, which goes into effect on May 15. They're simple, friendly messages that favor big ideas over piles of detail.
"One thing that isn't new is our commitment to your privacy," one page reads. Another says: "WhatsApp can't read or listen to your personal conversations as they're end-to-end encrypted."
WhatsApp's new privacy policy was supposed to come into effect on 8th February, but it was delayed because it revealed that WhatsApp would be sharing data with the parent company, Facebook. Facebook is not famous for data privacy. On contrary, the opposite is true.
To control the backlash and blowback, WhatsApp pushed the policy activation for three months and opted to use the time to come clean about the updated policy. Hence, the use of status as one of the tools of handling communication with all their customers.
WhatsApp said that neither they nor Parent company Facebook could read messages and even hear the calls made because of the end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp says they do not keep users' activity logs, do not share contacts with Facebook, and do not share location with any third party Apps.
“Nothing you share on WhatsApp, including your messages, photos, and account information, will be shared onto Facebook or any of our other family of apps for others to see, and nothing you post on those apps will be shared on WhatsApp for others to see,” WhatsApp said.
WhatsApp users are looking into other messaging apps like Telegram and Signal in the wake of this uncertainty, which assures the users more privacy.