Even as Facebook has postponed privacy policy tweaks to its messenger fearing backlash, 22 per cent say they have reduced usage, and 21 per cent say they have simultaneously started trying out other apps
WhatsApp’s move on privacy policy has sparked a public outcry and increased focus on its rivals
Social messaging platform WhatsApp is facing users’ heat after it came out with its latest privacy policy. A recent national survey says that 5 per cent users have deleted the app, 22 per cent have reduced its usage, and 21 per cent have started using alternative apps actively. In the latest survey conducted by LocalCircles, one in 20 users said they have switched to alternative apps and started using them actively after removing WhatsApp from their phones. A further inspection of the figures revealed that 16 per cent had downloaded alternative apps and started using them actively while reducing WhatsApp usage.
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There were also 34 per cent of users who said they have downloaded alternative apps, though not using them actively and still using WhatsApp. On the other hand, 15 per cent said they are still using WhatsApp and 6 per cent said they have reduced its usage but they have not downloaded similar apps. About 18 per cent of WhatsApp users said they plan to continue using WhatsApp the same as before, while 6 per cent said they can’t say.
Survey conductor LocalCircles says it enables citizens to connect with communities for most aspects of urban daily life like neighbourhood, constituency, city, government, causes, interests and needs, seek information or assistance when needed, come together for various initiatives and improve their urban daily life. The survey indicated that 67 per cent of Indians are still actively using WhatsApp. There were also 22 per cent of citizens who said that they have reduced its usage. Only 5 per cent said they have deleted WhatsApp.
LocalCircles’ earlier survey this month had said 15 per cent users indicated that they would stop using WhatsApp and move to other platforms, 67 per cent of users said they would discontinue business chat if it shared user and transaction data with Facebook and third parties. There were also 91 per cent users who said they will not use its payment features if it shares payment and transaction information.
Are users migrating en masse?
LocalCircles conducted another survey to understand if people are doing as they indicated and whether they are actually leaving WhatsApp and migrating. Leaving a social network is easier said than done because the whole network or at least 75 per cent of the members of a group or 75 per cent of an individual’s contacts must move to an alternative platform before they fully switch.
According to app analytics firm Sensor Tower, Signal recorded 26.4 million downloads from India between January 4 and January 17, while Telegram had recorded 9.1 million downloads. There were also 5 million new downloads for WhatsApp during that period. LocalCircles found that while 55 per cent of citizens have downloaded alternative apps, 21 per cent of citizens are actively using them.
Many users may have already had the Signal and Telegram apps on their phones before the new WhatsApp policy changes were proposed. The survey asked citizens if going forward they plan to continue chatting through WhatsApp Business accounts.
The majority of 75 per cent users said “No”. Only 13 per cent of citizens said they will not use payment but may use business chat. Only 1 per cent said they will use both business chat and payments. There were 7 per cent who voted “can’t say”. In the last survey, 67 per cent of citizens said “No”. Only 17 per cent voted “Yes”, while 16 per cent said they haven’t decided yet.
About 92 per cent of users may ditch WhatsApp Pay if it decides to implement the policy from May 15. Similarly, the percentage of users who are likely to not use WhatsApp Business accounts if the policy comes into force on May 15, has increased from 67 per cent in January 12 survey to 79 per cent in the January 28 survey.
The change is happening after WhatsApp’s latest privacy policy that requires users to agree to sharing of their data of chats with business accounts, payments and transactions with its parent company Facebook and third parties associated with it, sparked a huge public outcry.
The company has postponed the policy implementation date in India from February 8 to May 15, but a section of users, mostly aware users or early adopters, have shifted to alternative instant messaging platforms like Signal and Telegram. Signal is highly focused on users’ privacy, while Telegram is a mix of features and has a private chat option as well.
About LocalCircles
LocalCircles takes Social Media to the next level and makes it about communities, governance and utility. It enables citizens to connect with communities for most aspects of urban daily life like neighbourhood, constituency, city, government, causes, interests and needs, seek information or assistance when needed, come together for various initiatives and improve their urban daily life. LocalCircles is free for citizens.
Survey findings
5% users in India have deleted WhatsApp
22% claim to have reduced usage drastically
21% of Indian WhatsApp users claim to already be using alternative apps actively
75% of users say will discontinue business chat if it shares their transaction data with Facebook and third parties
93% WhatsApp users say they will not use its payment features if it starts sharing data with FB and others
Demographics : 17,000+ responses from 232 districts. 64% respondents were men, while 36% respondents were women. 52% respondents were from tier 1, 29% from tier 2 and 19% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
(Source: LocalCircles)
67%
Indians who are still using WhatsApp
26.4mn
No. of downloads on Signal between January 4 and January 17
9.1 mn
No. of downloads on Telegram between January 4 and 17
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