WhatsApp gets direct, thrashes Signal, Telegram over ‘we don’t read your chat’ policy – Times of India

WhatsApp is not rolling back its controversial privacy policy and this time it’s not mincing words. While accepting that the way it had talked about its new privacy policy earlier caused a lot of confusion, the company is now once again explaining what the policy actually means. Many WhatsApp users are concerned that Facebook will be able to read all their personal chats and this fear seems to have been fuelled further by competitors like Signal, Telegram and others through smart marketing.
Over the years, WhatsApp has fought most privacy scares by just playing the same record in loop: The platform is end-to-end encrypted and that no third-party can read users’ chats. Even now, it is largely doing the same thing — but in a more clear cut language.
Taking on two of its biggest rivals Signal and Telegram, WhatsApp in a statement said that its competitors are trying “to get away with claiming they can’t see people’s messages.” The Facebook-owned messaging platform said, “If an app doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption by default that means they can read your messages.”
While WhatsApp is fine with its users exploring other chat apps, in its defence, the company claims that the data that it collects from users are required to make the platform free, safe and reliable.
“During this time, we understand some people may check out other apps to see what they have to offer…Other apps say they’re better because they know even less information than WhatsApp. We believe people are looking for apps to be both reliable and safe, even if that requires WhatsApp having some limited data,” says the company.
WhatsApp has confirmed that it is going ahead with its controversial privacy policy update but will allow users to read it at “their own pace” and will also display a banner providing additional information. “We also think it’s important people know how we can provide WhatsApp for free,” it added.
Having said that, it also reminded users that they are “building new ways” to chat or shop with a business on WhatsApp that are entirely optional. “Personal messages will always be end-to-end encrypted, so WhatsApp can’t read or listen to them,” it reiterated.