Whatsapp privacy fails

[koeksGHT]

Since announcing our upcoming partnership with Facebook, we’ve been truly humbled by how much attention our story has received. As a company, we’re excited to continue focusing on offering as many people as possible the chance to stay connected with friends and loved ones, no matter who they are or where they live.

Unfortunately, there has also been a lot of inaccurate and careless information circulating about what our future partnership would mean for WhatsApp users’ data and privacy.

I’d like to set the record straight.

Above all else, I want to make sure you understand how deeply I value the principle of private communication. For me, this is very personal. I was born in Ukraine, and grew up in the USSR during the 1980s. One of my strongest memories from that time is a phrase I’d frequently hear when my mother was talking on the phone: “This is not a phone conversation; I’ll tell you in person.” The fact that we couldn’t speak freely without the fear that our communications would be monitored by KGB is in part why we moved to the United States when I was a teenager.

Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA, and we built WhatsApp around the goal of knowing as little about you as possible: You don’t have to give us your name and we don’t ask for your email address. We don’t know your birthday. We don’t know your home address. We don’t know where you work. We don’t know your likes, what you search for on the internet or collect your GPS location. None of that data has ever been collected and stored by WhatsApp, and we really have no plans to change that.

If partnering with Facebook meant that we had to change our values, we wouldn’t have done it. Instead, we are forming a partnership that would allow us to continue operating independently and autonomously. Our fundamental values and beliefs will not change. Our principles will not change. Everything that has made WhatsApp the leader in personal messaging will still be in place. Speculation to the contrary isn’t just baseless and unfounded, it’s irresponsible. It has the effect of scaring people into thinking we’re suddenly collecting all kinds of new data. That’s just not true, and it’s important to us that you know that.

Make no mistake: our future partnership with Facebook will not compromise the vision that brought us to this point. Our focus remains on delivering the promise of WhatsApp far and wide, so that people around the world have the freedom to speak their mind without fear.

http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2014/03/setting-the-record-straight/

 

[MKFrost]

Would have been even better if they did not use your phone number as your main identity like on WeChat where you can choose a user name and hide your phone number.

 

[Flip-Flop]

Would have been even better if they did not use your phone number as your main identity like on WeChat where you can choose a user name and hide your phone number.

Using your phone number as your identifier is one of the things that makes it easy and seamless to use. Not that I am bothered by this really. I have switched most of the people I chat with on a regular basis over to Telegram now.

 

[Species8472]

Would have been even better if they did not use your phone number as your main identity like on WeChat where you can choose a user name and hide your phone number.

I really don't understand why people are bothered by this. If someone has your number they can Whatsapp you. They already have your number, why try and hide it?

 

[Chevron]

I really don't understand why people are bothered by this. If someone has your number they can Whatsapp you. They already have your number, why try and hide it?

This.

Phone number identifier is what makes whatsapp useful.

 

[2026]

The fact that we couldn’t speak freely without the fear that our communications would be monitored by KGB is in part why we moved to the United States when I was a teenager.

Ironic.

 

[bwana]

Would have been even better if they did not use your phone number as your main identity like on WeChat where you can choose a user name and hide your phone number.

Agreed - then we would be able to use whatsapp on devices that don't have telephone numbers.

 

[bwana]

Would have been even better if they did not use your phone number as your main identity like on WeChat where you can choose a user name and hide your phone number.

Agreed - then we would be able to use whatsapp on devices that don't have telephone numbers.

 

[MKFrost]

I really don't understand why people are bothered by this. If someone has your number they can Whatsapp you. They already have your number, why try and hide it?

Many people I do business with have my phone number but I do not want to be seen by them on WhatsApp. So in short I cannot join it. However I can join WeChat as I can hide my number and by doing so only let those I want to communicate with know what my user name is.

 

[Sherbang]

I really don't understand why people are bothered by this. If someone has your number they can Whatsapp you. They already have your number, why try and hide it?

I think the point is that sometimes you don't want to give someone your phone number, especially strangers, but you do want to chat with them for whatever reason. On BBM you can give them your pin instead, for example. On wechat you can give them your username (apparently) and so can keep your phone number private.

 

[Flip-Flop]

Agreed - then we would be able to use whatsapp on devices that don't have telephone numbers.

I have not tested it myself or knows how it works exactly, but you can do this with Telegram. Can have it running on your phone, tablet and laptop. Telegram also uses your telephone number as your identifier so it is possible to do. WhatsApp just have not bothered to develop the feature.

 

[ChocolateBadger]

I think the point is that sometimes you don't want to give someone your phone number, especially strangers, but you do want to chat with them for whatever reason. On BBM you can give them your pin instead, for example. On wechat you can give them your username (apparently) and so can keep your phone number private.

The way I see it is if I'm not comfortable enough to give you my number, then I probably don't want to talk to you.

There's new privacy settings to hide your name and profile pic to those you haven't also added as contacts so a random person cannot identify you from having your number.

 

[bwana]

I have not tested it myself or knows how it works exactly, but you can do this with Telegram. Can have it running on your phone, tablet and laptop. Telegram also uses your telephone number as your identifier so it is possible to do. WhatsApp just have not bothered to develop the feature.

You can do it with Telegram, Google, Apple's iMessage, BBM… 195 million tablets were sold last year - to ignore them is somewhat foolish imo.

 

[Chevron]

Agreed - then we would be able to use whatsapp on devices that don't have telephone numbers.

You mean like Telegram?

 

[Chevron]

I think the point is that sometimes you don't want to give someone your phone number, especially strangers, but you do want to chat with them for whatever reason. On BBM you can give them your pin instead, for example. On wechat you can give them your username (apparently) and so can keep your phone number private.

That sounds childish. Maybe put on big boy pants.

 

[bwana]

You mean like Telegram?

Yes, like Telegram.

 

[Sherbang]

That sounds childish. Maybe put on big boy pants.

:wtf: erm it's called privacy. I really don't see what's childish about it.

 

[Chevron]

:wtf: erm it's called privacy. I really don't see what's childish about it.

You want to talk to someone, but not have them have your number and you go with the privacy excuse?

That's funny.

 

[Azbubu]

You want to talk to someone, but not have them have your number and you go with the privacy excuse?

That's funny.

It's not really funny. I might want to chat to Joelus on whatsapp but don't know him well enough to give him my number yet.

 

[eltherza]

These security concerns over whatsapp have been around for a while, I remember discussing it back in the day of BBM vs whatsapp and a strength of BBM was that every device has it own unique private key.

It'll be interesting to see how whatapp addresses this issue as the world becomes more security conscience because of NSA.