Yes. Whatsapp has almost if not all of your data stored in their servers. What’s more, Facebook Group, the parent company of Whatsapp and Instagram, has been consistently and efficiently gathering all of your data and personal information for years. However, as controversial as that knowledge is, it is not entirely our focus for today as it is only the tip of the iceberg on Whatsapp’s latest conspiracy.
On Monday, January 4, 2021, Whatsapp released a privacy policy stating that from Monday, February 8, 2021, the service will begin sharing its data with Facebook. This data includes, but is not solely restricted to location data, battery level, IMEI number, mobile network, and a lot more. This 8000-word count privacy policy also states that the service will begin the sharing of information about the groups its users are participating in, including real-time status, profile photo, and even the data about your online status on the app. Now, under a separate section in this new policy, Transactions and Payments data, it is stated that information on payments made through Whatsapp will also be stored. Facebook claims to use this information for just analytical purposes.
You’d think that’ll be all but no. Whatsapp went all out on its users by adding the clause of accepting this new policy or rejecting it and deleting your no longer needed data from their servers; basically, showing you the door and saying ‘Goodbye.’
As a result of this privacy policy, we’ve seen different analyses, commentaries, uninformed opinions, and speculations flying up and down the internet relating to Whatsapp and the place of privacy in the Facebook community. All of these have made us worried, scared, and apprehensive almost to the point of being hostile and cancelling the Facebook group. As a result, I’ll be explaining in basic and easy-to-understand terms, exactly what the Whatsapp privacy policy means to the average privacy-conscious Whatsapp user like you and me.
To enable me succinctly do this, I interviewed Mr. Omoniyi Oluwafemi, a software engineer and engineering manager at Tr1pp and Chief Technical Officer for Startups; Parkwell, and Foodie, to give out some insightful takes from a technical Point Of View to help me, help you to understand exactly why Facebook needs our data, what the new policy is all about and why exactly Facebook needs access to even more of our data and finally, the part most of us deem extremely important which is, whether or not we should be worried about sharing even more of our data with Facebook.
My name is Chidera Ajoke; reporting for First Media News, and now that that’s out of the way, let us delve right into this hot topic shall we? Fantastic!
Now, as I said earlier, Facebook has tons of data cum personal information about us ranging from the ones we submit like our full names, our emails, passwords, and the ones we don’t like— our spending patterns and whatnot. How? I’ll tell you.
Facebook has access to websites we visit. For example, you go to a website outside of Facebook. Let’s say like a store that bought ads on Facebook. Facebook tracks your IP to figure out if you bought anything, what you bought; if you did buy something, what you wanted to buy but didn’t and made a mental note to get, and other similar things. Now, even without clicking on their specially designed and targeted ads, Facebook has perfected the way to figure out who is doing what exactly.
On why Facebook needs this data: it’s because Facebook needs to know what things you like and do not like, for re-engagement, and also for targeting specific ads to us. Now, the more you go to sites that have a Facebook pixel, the things Facebook has embedded in the sites to help them track or understand you better, the more Facebook gets to know about you and the more data they get about you. For example, you go on Jumia, not to buy anything to just search for some things. Once you get on Instagram, you would begin to see targeted ads related to exactly what you searched for, to remind you of these products. This is because Facebook through its pixels can understand your preferences and style choices.
This enables us to understand Facebook’s primary purpose of gathering and collecting data; which is, to sell ads and make sure we (users) get relevant ads. No more, No less. Now is that right or wrong?
Here’s Mr. Omoniyi’s take. As when I asked him if, in his opinion, he felt like it was a bad idea for Facebook to keep storing our data he said.
‘I don’t think it’s bad and I feel like everything is driven by an incentive and the incentive like I mentioned before, is to sell ads. Not sell the data.’
He went on to say this:
‘A lot of people think that Facebook would sell their data. That is not true because it is against their business model to sell your data. So just rule that out, that they would sell your data because the more they sell the data to people, the lesser the value of the data. So, it is counterproductive for them to sell the data they have with them. No matter the amount they sell it for, It would never be up to the valuation that they already have because of that same data’.
Facebook is a for-profit company, which means that although they offer free services to their end-users, they need to make money. So, it is not ‘bad’ that they collect this information for the sake of selling ads. These sales of ads in themselves are essential. This is because there is no way the Facebook group can successfully run as a company with their chosen business model for profit, without the inclusion or rather, the existence of ads. Except, of course, we the users are willing to pay a premium for these features-which a lot of people aren’t willing to. So, if we agree that ads are essential to sustain the business model of the Facebook group, wouldn’t we as said, users, prefer to be targeted with relevant ads? The answer to which should be nothing short of a ‘yes’. If that is the case, we should be able to understand why Facebook needs more information about us, to understand and determine what kind of ads to send to us.
Also, if we’re being honest and we do a logical comparison, we’d see that the cost of advertising has reduced significantly, thanks to Facebook ads and it even converts more than the previous means of advertising. This is because there is a metric that enables you to see a direct relationship between how much you spend and how much you are getting from it. That has never happened before with previous means of advertisement and it’s all courtesy of the data Facebook collects and uses to target users via their ad placement systems. As a result, small businesses can start selling stuff online today, run ads on Facebook, and get immediate traction.
Now, focusing on the convenience of the average user; you and I, seeing specifically targeted ads that are relatable to our specific lifestyle choices, areas of interest, and proximity- in terms of location and culture, is way better than seeing unnecessary ads that are not meaningful or in any way relatable to our preferred choices.
Now on privacy, get this. Whether or not you’re a Facebook user, Facebook has a profile on you and this is without even knowing your name or knowing you specifically. How? This is because they have your IP as well as anonymous data about you. After all, you’ve visited sites that have Facebook’s pixel and your data is stored based on that IP. So, the minute you register as a Facebook user with that same IP, Facebook links this information together and begins to give you relevant ads from your very first day. This is why you need not spend years on Instagram or Facebook before getting relevant ads.
Relating this to the new policies for Whatsapp, Mr. Omoniyi explained that Whatsapp is trying to transform Wechat; a combination of messaging, payment, and utility, and the moment a company decides to introduce payment into their platform or app, they would need a new range of information. This new information is the IP address for AML- Anti Money Laundering. This is because the IP address of the person taking or making the transaction is needed and as such, more information is thus required. For example, who is sending the money and who is receiving the money, which brings us to KYC- Know Your Customer information, which is important and normal for every FinTech app in the world, even Nigeria. Information like your BVN, NIN, Bank accounts you use, your statements of accounts, what you spend money on, your spending pattern, etc. In a country where data protection laws are as weak as the country itself.
Facebook needing access to our Whatsapp data is essential because Whatsapp is evolving to a messaging and payment platform and the data gathered would aid the smooth running of the app as well as its evolution from Caterpillar to Butterfly. Now the reason Whatsapp has to share this information with Facebook is because this payment will be across their ecosystem. So, you can pay for a product on the Instagram shop or Facebook stores through Whatsapp and send a friend on Facebook or Messenger money through Whatsapp. As a result, the Facebook group has to find a way to link the users on Facebook on Instagram to users on Whatsapp. With this link, it would be easier to track transactional data and make payments across the Facebook ecosystem.
That is why these policies need to be put in place. Also, why you have to agree to this new policy because without your agreement, Whatsapp won’t successfully evolve or run smoothly as a messaging cum payment and utility app. Also because consent is very important in situations like this. This explains the ‘agree or leave clause’ because, in this new Whatsapp ecosystem, there is no room for exemptions. You can’t choose to not want those features in your upgrade. So, if you’re not comfortable being a part of this ecosystem, you have the option of leaving.
Regarding the hasty move of tons of Nigerians to Telegram, Mr. Omoniyi had this to say: “I think people should be more worried about Telegram and not even Whatsapp or Facebook. For Facebook, we know their business model, we know how they make money. We know they make money using ads and they’re trying to diversify into payments. But for Telegram, they’ve only made money through ICO- Initial Coin Offering by generating tokens. Like Cryptocurrency tokens which are not a sustainable revenue source because you can’t keep raising ICO’s. So, they are not even close to being profitable and the whole app is founded out of pocket by Pavel Durov. Plus the country is in Russia and we all know Russia is famous for US election interference and I’m not clear about their data protection laws. If Putin says he wants information from Telegram, I do not want the laws that protect Telegram from giving it to the government. And finally, messages on Telegram are not even encrypted; so their employees can most definitely see your messages. Oh! and regarding Signal, Signal and Facebook partnered together to create the encryption on Whatsapp. So, the same grade of encryption on Whatsapp from 2016, is the same grade on Signal.’ encrypted so it’s the same thing.
Now to the icing on the cake, should you be worried about WhatsApp’s new privacy laws? No, you shouldn’t. And it’s not just because worrying won’t undo the law or because worrying about something you do not have the power to change is pointless and just plain detrimental to your health. It’s because privacy is a myth as long as you use and leave digital footprints on the internet. As Mr. Omoniyi said earlier, WhatsApp has no incentive to stalk you or to sell your data. Also because numerous FinTech apps in Nigeria have your data sitting shiva in their servers in a country with data protection laws as weak as its economy. So why worry? I’d honestly advise you to get yourself a chilled glass of wine and toast to WhatsApp’s proposed scheme- to make sending money as easy as sending a text after clicking ‘I Agree’ on your newest WhatsApp update that is.