January 22, 2026

Should We Abandon WhatsApp?

By admin
First publised on 2021-01-20 02:52:39

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People are talking about the changes in the privacy policy of WhatsApp and how it will impact them. India is one of the biggest markets for the Facebook-owned instant messaging service WhatsApp.  As WhatsApp has recently got the license to integrate the payments service in the app and is likely to onboard Jio Mart soon, it needs to leverage the reach of Facebook to augment its user base and show them targeted advertisements. But people say that this cannot be done by force and has to be optional.

People are worried that they will lose control over their personal data when it will be shared across platforms. For instance, people point out that they give their picture in their profile on Facebook but might not give it on WhatsApp as too many unrelated person can access the same. If they agree for data sharing, people say that others might be able to access their picture on WhatsApp through Facebook.

People are also worried that once their data is shared with business entities, they will be subjected to a barrage of calls and messages from these entities as they would use the data to plug their products and services. People say that that is one headache they are unwilling to take on.

People say that as they cannot survive without instant messaging in this digital age, they are looking to shift from WhatsApp to other platforms like Telegram and Signal. But people say that they are still not convinced how efficient these services are and whether others (mainly their friends, relatives and business acquaintances) would also make a similar shift.

People say that WhatsApp should make the acceptance of the new privacy policy optional or better still, make it mandatory only for its business users. People say that there are other ways of earning money and WhatsApp should realize that if it harasses users, they will leave the platform.