Tesla CEO Elon Musk asks followers to ‘Use Signal’ after WhatsApp users have to agree to let Facebook and its subsidiaries collect their personal information.
WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging app that sells itself as a privacy-focused service is changing its terms of service and forcing users to share personal data with Facebook, its parent company. On Wednesday, Whatsapp in an announcement said that its users have to agree to let Facebook and its subsidiaries to collect WhatsApp data including users’ phone numbers, contacts’ phone numbers, locations, and more. By February 8, if users do not agree they will lose access.
Tesla Inc. and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recommended the users to switch services, tweeting ‘Use Signal’.
After Musk tweet, encrypted messaging app Signal received the wave of new users and the flooding sign-ups delayed sending out the verification codes that are needed to activate new user accounts.
A complete overflow of Signal app download led to delay in sending out verification codes
Signal is a cross-platform encrypted messaging service that is available on Android, iOS, and other operating systems. The messaging app offers end-to-end encryption for messages and media shared between users.
The service is being recommended as a WhatsApp alternative after the Facebook-owned messaging app recently updated its terms of service and privacy policy. The new update provides additional information on WhatsApp services and how the app processes user data. There are new sections that provide precise information on how data is collected by the app, including Transactions, Payments Data, and Location Information. The most important change centres around how the messaging platform shares information with Facebook and its subsidiaries.
WhatsApp users can choose to accept the new terms of service and privacy policy or delete their account from February 8th.