Popular messaging service WhatsApp’s controversial privacy policy changes has led to competitors like Telegram and Signal seeing a growth spurt as consumers look for alternatives.
WhatsApp’s policy changes have also prompted discussions and action from the South Africa government as governments elsewhere in the world also scrutinise the policy of the Facebook-owned application .
The Information Regulator announced it had met regarding the revised policy and was engaging with Facebook South Africa about the matter, with concern surrounding the difference in policies between European and non-European countries.
“The Regulator will be analysing whether the terms of service and the privacy policies indeed differ and whether the privacy policy applicable to users outside Europe, which include the South African users, are in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act,” it said.
On January 7, WhatsApp’s 2 billion users were confronted with a notification about updates to its privacy policy. The updates included how the app as well as parent company Facebook will processes users’ data.
On Friday, in response to the controversy, WhatsApp announced it was moving back the date for users to review and accept the new policy from February 8 to May 15.
"We're also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp, the company wrote in a blog statement. "We’ll then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15."
A Facebook spokesperson said the company was committed to honouring privacy choices and protecting user information.
“What you share and who you share it with should be your decision,” they said. “As you connect and share more online, knowing how to manage your privacy and protect your information is more important than ever. Our bottom line is getting this right for people.”
According to German data company Statista, WhatsApp was the most popular app in South Africa as of February last year, with 58% of the local population having downloaded it on to their devices. In addition, South Africa was number 7 of the top 10 countries with the most downloads of WhatsApp from the Apple App Store in the third quarter.
The biggest change in policy that has upset users was WhatsApp being allowed to share the phone numbers in a user’s contact list on their phones, in addition to the user’s number. Technology expert Brendon Petersen said: “WhatsApp would have already had access to your phone number, as it's used to register and use your WhatsApp account, however gaining access to the phone numbers in your contacts is a huge concern as it gives WhatsApp and Facebook access to the phone numbers of people who might not have Facebook or WhatsApp and could be used for questionable and iniquitous purposes.”
Facebook, who acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, is under investigation in the US for allegedly violating anti-trust laws, using its dominance to crush rivals and monopolise the sector, and has long been accused of collecting personal data on its customers.
The WhatsApp policy update has prompted a mass social media outcry with many people saying they would move to competing messaging apps.
However, Petersen is sceptical of a mass WhatsApp exodus.
“By migrating to an alternate messaging platform, people leave themselves open to a fragmented and potentially frustrating communication system whereby they'll be communicating with people across multiple platforms which each require their own app and log in, and at a time when certain handset manufacturers either have no expandable storage or are removing expandable storage from their devices, the decision as to which apps to download and keep will become even more contentious a decision than it is already,” Petersen said.
Nevertheless, other popular messaging apps have reported a surge in user numbers following the policy update.
Telegram, created by Russian brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, reported that in the first week of January, the app surpassed 500 million monthly active users, and in this past week alone welcomed an additional 25 million users, the majority in Asia and Europe.
“This is a significant increase compared to last year, when 1.5 million new users signed up every day,” Pavel Durov said. “We've had surges of downloads throughout our seven year history of protecting user privacy. But this time is different.”
Telegram was launched in 2013 and is based in Dubai. Despite originating in Russia, the app was previously banned by the country after it refused to share the encryption keys to user messages with the government. Telegram was unbanned in Russia in 2018 after it agreed to assist in anti-terrorism investigations.
The app is blocked in Iran, Egypt and Thailand, and plans are under way to block it in Hong Kong by the government there following pro-democracy protests.
Signal, another messaging app, reported this week that device installations of the app had exceeded 50 million. Last week, tech mogul Elon Musk took to Twitter to tell his 42.3 million followers to use Signal, a tweet then shared by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey. Shortly afterwards, Signal reported a surge in user activity that resulted in delayed verification keys to new customers.
Despite being hailed for its encryption and security methods to protect user data, as well as being endorsed by former National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden, the app has also been blocked in several countries.