There has been growing
concern about what WhatsApp will be able to do with your data due to its new
privacy update. People have become concerned about WhatsApp keeping their
conversations and using them. WhatsApp is not the only chat app that does this,
and Facebook Messenger is actually much worse. Facebook Messenger admits to
reading and going through its users’ conversations to provide them with
targeted ads.
I think that this is a
very big invasion of privacy for Facebook Messenger users, however, this is a
fact that Facebook does not try to hide. I think that due to the fact that this
is something that Facebook Messenger is open about, it is up to each person to
decide if they can accept this fact and continue to use the app. Otherwise,
consumers can look for an alternative platform to use. When downloading
Messenger and prior to being able to use it, consumers must agree to many
things and this is one of them. Facebook is able to make its messenger app free
because it uses targeted advertising to pay for itself. Although these targeted
ads reach people because Facebook has read through their messages, these ads
can be beneficial. Since these are targeted ads, they could help people find
products that they were already searching for. If people could think of
Facebook reading their messages and providing them with targeted ads as helpful
instead of harmful, they could appreciate what targeted ads have to offer.
Despite all that I have
stated above, I do believe that there should be limitations to how much of our
data Facebook Messenger is able to look at and analyze. I do not think that
Facebook Messenger should be able to keep any files sent through the app. I
think that Facebook Messenger should allow users to decide how much of their
messaging data is available to them. This would allow people to decide how much
of their content Facebook Messenger is allowed to see and use for the use of
targeted ads. I think that this would lower the opposition to what Facebook is
already doing by providing users of the app with some more control over what
happens to their data.
Source: Worried WhatsApp shares your data with Facebook? Wait until you see what Messenger does (msn.com)
In today’s world, not only chat apps, but almost all social media apps store your data in some way. This has been a well discussed topic within this past decade. From a consumer’s perspective, one would either love the idea of data collection or hate it. I know many people that like being tracked and monitored for the purpose of advertisements. The more your phone or laptop gets to know you, the more advertisements will pop up that are in your favor. This can lead to coupons being given and much more. I am sure many of us can recall using a social media app that contained advertisements of a product you liked, or often purchase. In this way, data collection can be very helpful to a user, but the most concerning part is not knowing exactly where your information is stored and who knows about it. This is obviously the main reason why hate the fact that they are being monitored within these social media and chat apps. We can even presume that these companies such as Facebook and WhatsApp are selling our data to other corporations which would then target us consumers. I believe it is an endless loop at this point, it is almost physically impossible to be totally “off the grid” as one might say. Even if one doesn’t have a Facebook account, I believe the company still knows that you exist, hence one getting ads from the company. It seems impossible to avoid, but we learn in the article that Europe regulates data in a way that chat messengers such as Facebook Messenger cannot store data in their natural ways. There is an end to end encryption to shield conversations between users and others. Even though this seems very tough to control, it keeps users safer in Europe as we Americans are. Would America every implement an encryption like this? It would be highly doubtful at this rate.
ReplyDeleteAshleen, this is a great discussion of both sides of the argument about data collection. I agree that Facebook Messenger and other chat apps should not be allowed to keep any files sent through the app. However, you mention that “Facebook Messenger should allow users to decide how much of their messaging data is available to them” so that people have a degree of control over what is being shared. This point prompts the discussion of opt-in vs. opt-in privacy policies. By providing users with a TOS and privacy policy up front that they have to agree to before they can use the app, FM and WhatsApp are, in essence, taking an opt-in approach that is largely seen as more favorable for consumers. However, I think this is in some ways a pseudo-solution because as you point out, there’s no limit to their control. A user is forced to be all in or all out. Furthermore, after some quick research, I found that the current WhatsApp TOS is ~5200 words and the privacy policy is ~3800. Importantly, both are in cryptic legalese. Frankly, I believe this is because, if given the option to control their data usage in explicit language, most users would never allow chat apps or many other apps to handle the data in the ways they do. Companies know that by allowing you to click past 8000+ words of legal material in one click, you’ll never bother to read it all. You also mention how users do have the option to use other chat apps if they disagree with the policies of FM or WhatsApp. This is true, but I have anecdotal evidence as to why this is not always a practical solution. A club I’m involved in on campus uses
ReplyDeleteWhatsApp to handle club communication. It is easy, effective, and has supported the nearly 30 rotating members for 3 years. At this point, it would be unreasonable to shift everyone over to a new platform unless there was a strong group consensus around the need for better data privacy measures. Personal experience aside, I hope that in the future tech companies can effectively self-regulate their data policies but, if not, I think that the government should step in to protect consumers.