According to the expert, the WhatsApp controversy has turned attention to “a new and serious problem” that could convince you to stop using Messenger, its sister platform.
WhatsApp’s response to the controversy over its new terms of use, which it had to postpone until May, should serve as “a serious warning” to Facebook Messenger’s 1.3 billion users, a cybersecurity expert said. writing for Forbes magazine.
“Yes, Messenger’s data collection is significantly more alarming than WhatsApp’s,” said Zak Doffman, executive director of Digital Barriers, in an article published in the US medium on January 16, 2021, explaining why you should. to do. to exit Facebook Messenger.
“We all know that Facebook lives on our data, this is how we pay for their supposedly free services. But there must be a limit. If we’re in a position where Facebook says ‘I’ll keep everything I can’ and we accept, what does that say about us and the value we place on our own privacy, ”asks Doffman.
According to a review, as a result of an unfortunate series of events (poorly managed public relations and very poor communication), the WhatsApp debacle that has led thousands of users to migrate to Signal or Telegram today has diverted attention from the serious that is the invasion of privacy exercised by Facebook Messenger.
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He explains that WhatsApp’s main defense when discussing its privacy policy is that it cannot see private messages. But be warned if you are a Messenger user, you are not that lucky.
The WhatsApp application is bringing more updates and adjustments to its platform.
“Facebook admits that it monitors content sent in private messages between users. And Facebook will undoubtedly share all of its metadata with it, another requirement WhatsApp has questioned by its own users and metadata, ”he said in his article.
“The perfect illustration of Facebook Messenger’s lack of respect for privacy” came to light when cybersecurity researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakr revealed a year ago that the app “downloaded private attachments that were sent between users to its own servers. links to shared files and websites. The problem of Messenger accessing your private data is easy to solve, that’s what end-to-end encryption is all about, ”says Doffman, pointing out that what’s not there is willpower.
Unlike WhatsApp, end-to-end encryption in Messenger only supports private messages between two people, not within groups, and is not enabled by default. When the option is selected, Facebook will stop snooping through messages and downloading links and attachments.
“It is this lack of end-to-end encryption that makes Messenger useless to me. This should be the default for any messaging platform you use. Facebook has itself warned of the risks of not having this type of encryption, and WhatsApp deserves great credit for its universal access, which makes end-to-end encryption available to 2 billion users, ”said Doffman.
End-to-end encryption should not be taken for granted, according to the expert: the fact that we can make calls and send messages anywhere in the world, safe from government network probes and bad actors, is a major advantage. “One of the ironies of WhatsApp’s response is that users are leaving this app, which is end-to-end encrypted by default, by Telegram, which is not the case,” he says.
This, he confirms, brings back into focus Facebook’s practices and for which he believes users should switch to another alternative. Recall that in 2019 “Mark Zuckerberg argued that private messaging would become the new norm, replacing the social need to share everything everywhere. This followed early reports of Facebook’s plans to integrate WhatsApp with Messenger and Instagram DMs, creating a messaging giant serving nearly 3 billion users. “
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At the time, there were reports that Messenger would be encrypted end-to-end, a big improvement. But two years later, we haven’t seen tangible progress, banning secret conversations, disappearing messages and some beta WhatsApp code suggesting a messaging gateway in development. What we’ve seen, however, is the start of that integration, starting with Messenger and Instagram, with no security enhancements in sight, ”he says.
He noted that last year Facebook said it is “very committed to making Messenger end-to-end encrypted by default.” In fact, Facebook’s Jay Sullivan assured the Senate Committee in 2019 that “people should be able to communicate securely and privately with their friends and loved ones without anyone, including Facebook, listening to or monitoring their conversations.”
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He also said users should be able to provide medical and financial information “with the confidence that it will not fall into the hands of identity thieves or others with malicious intent.” But, the expert warns, Messenger is monitoring content, and “health and fitness,” “sensitive information,” and “financial information” are among the multitude of user data fields it admits to collect through its Messenger platform.
Adding end-to-end encryption would have been something of a rescue for Messenger as it would prevent content from being monitored, collected and processed, even though it wouldn’t protect the metadata. “But WhatsApp’s response has made millions realize that encryption of content alone is not enough.”
Doffman states that “Facebook’s data practices are now visible to everyone, they are not buried in the fine print of the privacy policy. We can all see the ridiculous difference between Messenger and other platforms, although we have yet to understand how that metadata is monetized and how it is used to target ads. “
The expert advises, “If you’re still using Messenger or using Instagram direct messages for anything other than dealing with businesses you shop at or casual contacts, then it’s time to switch. Your easiest option is still WhatsApp given its scale – all of your friends and family are potential users. Run Signal in parallel for a more secure option. It becomes more useful as more contacts join. “
The Signal messaging application is one of the most important downloads on the Apple Store and Google Play platforms in various countries, after WhatsApp asked its nearly two billion users on January 7, 2021 to accept new terms that allow it to share more information with Facebook . Photo / AFP
It states that “if WhatsApp and Signal run in parallel, you are covered in security and privacy. And he adds that over time it will eventually use Signal as the default option, but for that all your contacts will have to use it too ”.
It ends by suggesting to users that it is ideal to “move all your chats and groups from Facebook Messenger to WhatsApp or Signal.
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