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WhatsApp & Facebook


IceCreamMan

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Whatsapp

 

The end to end encryption (E2E) introduced in 2016 on WhatsApp is available on every single mode of communication that the app enables. So all your messages, video calls, voice calls, photos, and anything else you share are end-to-end encrypted. WhatsApp uses the E2E protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems, which is the name behind Signal messenger. That’s a good thing, because the Signal protocol is open source, widely peer-reviewed, and is generally considered one of the best protocols for implementing end-to-end encryption in messaging platforms.

 

However, WhatsApp does not encrypt backups (cloud or local). Also, it does not encrypt the metadata which is used to carry communication between two endpoints. This is one of the major criticisms of WhatsApp’s security model. While metadata does not allow anyone to read your messages, it lets authorities know whom and when you messaged someone, and for how long.

 

All in all, WhatsApp does a pretty decent job of ensuring security for its users. That being said, WhatsApp has suffered a couple of major privacy nightmares, especially the recent issue with group chats getting indexed on Google search. That issue has been fixed, however, it was not a good look for the messaging app.

 

Telegram

 

Telegram does offer some level of protection to its users. While Telegram supports E2E encryption, it’s not enabled by default. The only way to use E2E encryption on Telegram is to use its secret chats feature. However, Telegram states that it manages its message storage and decryption keys in a way that one would require court orders from multiple legal systems around the world to be able to access any of your data. The company says that it has shared 0 bytes of data with third-parties and governments to this date.

 

Telegram groups are not encrypted because Secret Chats are only supported for single-user communication. Moreover, Telegram’s desktop client doesn’t support E2E encryption on any platform other than macOS.

 

Signal

 

Signal is by far the best when it comes to security, be it on the back-end or the user-facing side of the service. Signal uses the open-source Signal Protocol to implement end-to-end encryption. And just like WhatsApp, the E2E encryption covers all forms of communication on Signal.

 

Signal goes one step further than others and encrypts your metadata too. To protect user privacy from all corners, Signal devised a new way to communicate between the sender and the recipient and it’s called Sealed Sender. Basically, with Sealed Sender, no one will be able to know not even Signal who is messaging whom, which ensures ultimate privacy. Signal by default encrypts all the local files with a 4-digit passphrase. And if you want to create an encrypted local backup then you can do that as well. The app now also supports encrypted group calls.

 

All in all, in terms of security and privacy protection, Signal stands head and shoulder above WhatsApp and Telegram and that makes it the most secure messaging app between the three.

 

What data does each app collect?

 

Following is the list of data that each of the three messaging apps collects from their users:

 

WhatsApp

 

Device ID

User ID

Advertising Data

Purchase History

Coarse Location

Phone Number

Email Address

Contacts

Product Interaction

Crash Data

Performance Data

Other Diagnostic Data

Payment Info

Customer Support

Product Interaction

Other User Content

 

Telegram

 

Contact Info

Contacts

User ID

 

Signal

 

None. (The only personal data Signal stores is your phone number)

 

* Signal asks for a lot of permissions on Android, but you can deny / revoke them.

 


Edited by MrJacques
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If these messaging apps don’t get their act together quickly people are going to have to start using their actual voice to communicate again.... Could you imagine!

 

Those messaging apps all have voice calls :P

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It will be interesting to see how (if) they monetize it.

 

Fb didn't pay $14bn for WA just so that people can continue to chat for free. 

 

I'll stop using it once the adverts start appearing like on Messenger. 

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Fb didn't pay $14bn for WA just so that people can continue to chat for free.

 

I'll stop using it once the adverts start appearing like on Messenger.

Not all value is directly correlated to ads or direct monetisation. Gillette didn’t sell razors at break even so that people could shave for free, he did to make more people buy more blades.

 

The increased market cap after the purchase quickly paid for the transaction.

The data that is being shared with Facebook is to draw more users to Facebook and to improve monetization on other FB products through improved targeting.

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Slightly related, but my son saved up to buy and Oculus Rift VR headset for his gaming machine. Facebook bought Oculus a while back and have this silly rule that you cannot use your headset unless you have an active Facebook account.

 

So, my 11 year old cannot technically use this device until he is 13 (the minimum age for a Facebook Account)

 

Imagine you had spent over $500USD for a headset and who knows how much on games, only to be told that you can no longer use them unless you sign up and allow Facebook to access your entire gamer profile. Sure, they gave users that owned the products before the buy out a window of time, but that's not really the point.

 

I understand in a situation like WhatsApp and Facebook that are provided for "free" that the user is the product, but in the Oculus scenario, you are actually paying for a tangible thing...

 

TLDR; Facebook sucks

Edited by Wayne Potgieter
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Not all value is directly correlated to ads or direct monetisation. Gillette didn’t sell razors at break even so that people could shave for free, he did to make more people buy more blades.

 

The increased market cap after the purchase quickly paid for the transaction.

The data that is being shared with Facebook is to draw more users to Facebook and to improve monetization on other FB products through improved targeting.

This ^^

 

If you're using a digital service that costs money to run and you aren't paying for it, chances are your personal data is being used to generate revenue.

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Slightly related, but my son saved up to buy and Oculus Rift VR headset for his gaming machine. Facebook bought Oculus a while back and have this silly rule that you cannot use your headset unless you have an active Facebook account.

 

So, my 11 year old cannot technically use this device until he is 13 (the minimum age for a Facebook Account)

 

Imagine you had spent over $500USD for a headset and who knows how much on games, only to be told that you can no longer use them unless you sign up and allow Facebook to access your entire gamer profile. Sure, they gave users that owned the products before the buy out a window of time, but that's not really the point.

 

I understand in a situation like WhatsApp and Facebook that are provided for "free" that the user is the product, but in the Oculus scenario, you are actually paying for a tangible thing...

 

TLDR; Facebook sucks

Jis that sucks!!
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from another thread:

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/186712-global-politics-and-stuff/page-282?do=findComment&comment=3756569

 

"let me ask you this.. if I broke the 2018 T&C  in 2019 and they banned me from using there service but did not agree to the 2018 T&C, the offence been something that was not part of the 2016 T&C's

 

would that be ethical on there part?"

 

I'm not sure to be honest, the question seems a bit ambiguous. 

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from another thread:

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/186712-global-politics-and-stuff/page-282?do=findComment&comment=3756569

 

"let me ask you this.. if I broke the 2018 T&C  in 2019 and they banned me from using there service but did not agree to the 2018 T&C, the offence been something that was not part of the 2016 T&C's

 

would that be ethical on there part?"

 

I'm not sure to be honest, the question seems a bit ambiguous. 

 

 

look at T&C's in terms of contracts.

you original agree to a bid by specific terms in the contract, the contract get changed, you do not agree to them, and continue to use the service based on the old terms, 

you breech a specific term you did not agree to, as it was not in the original contract, and get penalized, 

 

is it ethical for them to hold you to account when there is no breech of contract according to the contract agreed upon ?

 

Patreon Vs Comedian

 

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