You’d have gotten (some version of) this blurb via email this morning if you were subscribed to the TechCabal digest. Fix up.
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We all knew this day was coming. When WhatsApp (positioned itself as a threat to, and as a result) got itself acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, many people wondered about privacy (ESPECIALLY since this particular deep-pocketed buyer makes its bread and butter by data mining and delivering targeted adverts to its users).
WhatsApp founder/CEO, Jan Koum tried to calm the storm by responding to everyone in a blogpost titled “Setting the record straight”, saying things like “our future partnership with Facebook will not compromise the vision that brought us to this point”, and “Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNAAAHHVWE FKHVKD FADF GHUSHFDS…
*sprays copious amounts of WhatsApp deodorant*
*fast forwards tape*
Now, they’ve announced a change in their privacy policy that allows them to start sharing their users’ data with Big Brother over there. It doesn’t help that they are being a little vague about what exactly they will be sharing, throwing around phrases like…”analytics data”, which could mean anything they need it to mean per time.
But there’s hope (you can stop imagining a dystopia where Facebook is the all seeing eye or whatever else you read on Vigilant Citizen). If you haven’t already agreed to the updated terms and conditions (because Android apps, unlike their OS, like to update themselves every 5 seconds), you can uncheck the box that says *Share my WhatsApp information with Facebook to improve…* when your app gets updated.
If you already did the deed, you can go to settings over the next 30 (actually, 29) days, do a Settings > Account > Share my account info and uncheck the pertinent boxes. After those 30 days, you are OYO.
One more thing. Please copy and paste this blurb and send it as a WhatsApp broadcast to all your contacts and STOP sending me messages about APC = All Promises Cancelled, and Nigerians taking part in Eba eating Olympics, and Northern Muslims being terrorists. JUST STOP, OKAY?
*pants*
*side-eyes all Nigerian parents*
