Planning to change your messaging app? Here's what you need to know

So, what has changed with WhatsApp? Is it going to share all our chats with Facebook? Is our data at threat here?

Whatsapp is one of the biggest messaging apps on the planet, with over two billion users. Though Facebook bought out WhatsApp in 2014, until recently, no one ever thought about the negative consequences. This is because WhatsApp was always seen as a separate entity. However, the recent pop-up on the app broke that image and the threat of account deletion made a lot of users angry. This has led to the mass migration trend that we are seeing right now.

WhatsApp
So, what has changed with WhatsApp? Is it going to share all our chats with Facebook? Is our data at threat here?

The simple answer is not much has changed. WhatsApp chats are end-to-end encrypted, which means no one can read your chat or hear your calls. Unread chats get deleted from WhatsApp servers after a short amount of time. WhatsApp doesn’t share your contacts with Facebook either.

The data being collected, instead, has to do with activity logs, connection logs and location data. The new policy has a lot to do with business accounts and their interactions. If you shop from businesses using their WhatsApp store, that data will be shared with Facebook.

That said, Facebook doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to protecting user data and many users have opted not to trust their subsidiary either.

If you want to stay on WhatsApp, there is nothing new to worry about. This is especially true if you have decided to keep your Facebook account and you share every bit of your life there. That is a lot more dangerous than the chats you are having on WhatsApp.

What are the alternatives
As far as chat programmes go, there are many, but for right now there are two at the forefront : Telegram and Signal. So, let’s talk about them.

Telegram
Telegram has some of the same trappings that WhatsApp does, starting with the fact that it is a commercial business. Second, unlike WhatsApp, the chats are not encrypted by default at the user’s end, the encryption happens on Telegram’s servers. Secret chats are the only place where you get end-to-end encryption. They don’t collect a lot of data either, other than contact information and your contacts. They have also never shared any data with third-parties. However, this is a commercial enterprise so they could change their policy at any time. What’s to say that Zuckerburg or some other company won’t open up its wallet to gobble this app as well?

While it lacks in security, it shines in terms of features. You can have huge groups of 2,00,000. You can share files up to 1.5GB in size. It has group features like bots, polls, quizzes and hashtags. It outshines WhatsApp in many ways.

Signal
Signal is the underdog here, but unlike Telegram, it is packed with security features. It uses end-to-end encryption and the keys are stored on your phone. It doesn’t store any data on you and this includes metadata, logs, contacts, location and even people you have connected with. Your chats don’t get backed up automatically either, you can choose to back them up at your convenience and at a location you feel is secure. They also have self-destructing messages, which disappear after a certain time limit. Not to mention, Edward Snowden and Elon Musk both love it.

Signal is a non-profit and it makes its money through donations. So, there are no commercial ambitions there. Where Signal lacks is in integrated features. It is relatively simple-looking. You can’t just add friends without their approval. There is no integrated payments. You can’t conduct polls or make groups over 1,000.

Conclusion
In reality, most people may run all three programmes. Owing to where their groups are going, there are some that have shifted to Signal and some to Telegram, while a lot have stayed on in WhatsApp. So, at the very least I think people are going to have two, if not all three. However, the incident with WhatsApp has left a lot of people bitter, so I feel a lot of the non-essential chats will happen on WhatsApp. For bigger groups, Telegram makes sense and with smaller groups like family and friends, Signal is the better choice. Ideally, if you are worried about privacy, you might want to keep a closer watch on your Facebook rather than WhatsApp account.

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