By Erick That message that says “end to end encryption” – that means nothing.
NOTHING.
What can be encrypted- can very easily be decrypted.
And you can be sure that Meta is decrypting your WhatsApp chats and using it to serve you ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Maybe not immediately, but definitely within a few days.
Is it Legal?
Last week, the SC gave WhatsApp a stern warning about taking privacy lightly. Good. But right now, is it legal for WhatsApp to share private user data with Instagram and Facebook for ads? Sadly, it is. Bad.
In 2021, WhatsApp quietly pushed out a privacy policy update which informed – in very difficult to understand legalese – that WhatsApp has the right to do this. And by this I mean exactly this – share information from our private chats with Instagram and Facebook so ad targeting can be ore specific.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) got involved, and imposed a 213 crore penalty on WhatsApp. Meta does not care about the penalty – it’s “cost of doing business” because clearly they make far more than 213 crores from targeted advertising.
But in 2024, the CCI instructed Meta to HALT the sharing of WhatsApp chat information with any other Meta platform, for any purpose. Meta appealed (of course they would) and – sadly for us – won the appeal.
What now?
The CCI has now appealed the overturn, which if successful will make it illegal for Meta again to share WhatsApp chat information with anyone else – let alone Instagram and Facebook. I hope the CCI is successful. Of course, Meta will pay ungodly sums to lawyers – the way they paid an ungodly sum to acquire WhatsApp in 2014 – to stay this.
Until then, as users, consider other platforms. There are good alternatives now.
At the very least, don’t share nudes on WhatsApp.