One of the largest chat apps in the world, WhatsApp is currently facing a tough time. And it’s due to the recently revealed privacy-based changes.
According to Reuters, after facing criticism and a big shift of its users to rival apps, WhatsApp decided to publish newspaper ads. Recently, it initiated the step in India, which happens to be its largest market in terms of users. There are nearly 400 million active app users in the country.
“Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA,” read one newspaper announcement from the platform.
WhatsApp getting challenges from Signal, Telegram
The moment a new notification popped up on many users’ devices about the app’s privacy-based changes, it witnessed large uninstalls. It has happened across the globe, except in India. The country is yet to see any big shift when it comes to transition to a rival app. However, other regions are witnessing a huge impact at the moment.
After the new privacy policy revealed that the users’ chat data would be shared with third parties, the Signal app suddenly became popular. Since last week, the end-to-end encrypted messaging platform saw an unexpected increase in its downloads. It happened on both Android and iOS devices and continuing.
WhatsApp tried to clear doubts and said that the new change wouldn’t affect consumers’ privacy. And that it’s only related to their interactions with businesses.
However, it seems like clarifications are not enough now to prevent people from moving to rival apps. Just like Signal, Telegram has also witnessed a big jump in its user base. Just recently, it also managed to cross 500 million registered users.
Privacy is becoming the top priority
The most important thing to note from the current case of the most-used messaging portal is the privacy concern. For years, the crucial aspect has seen an ignorance from the people. But in 2020, it emerged as a prominent term thanks to Apple’s revolutionary changes to its iOS 14 software. Following the heated tension between Apple and Facebook in the last year, everyone became aware of how necessary their personal data is.
Then, WhatsApp’s incident happened just a few weeks ago, and consumers noticed what was at risk. Since its acquisition by Facebook, the iconic messaging app has become less dependable on security. Yes, it still says that all chats are encrypted end-to-end, but the trust has slightly faded away.
And thus, people are now looking for alternatives that actually prioritize privacy as a necessity. Because the conversations among individuals is a personal experience, it must remain that way only.
Image courtesy of Whatsapp/YouTube Screenshot