According to the expert, the WhatsApp controversy has distracted attention from “a new and serious problem” that may convince you to stop using Messenger, its sister platform.
WhatsApp’s reaction after the controversy over the new terms and conditions for its use, which was forced to be delayed until May, should serve as “a stern warning” for 1.3 billion Facebook Messenger users, he notes. a cybersecurity expert who writes for Forbes magazine.
“Yes, Messenger data collection is significantly more alarming than WhatsApp,” says Zak Doffman, executive director of Digital Barriers, in the article he published on January 16, 2021 in the northern media. American, where he explains why you should leave Facebook Messenger.
“We all know that Facebook lives off our data, that’s how we pay for their supposedly free services. But there has to be a limit. If we’re in a position where Facebook says ‘I’ll stick with everything I can.’ , and we accept, what this says about us and the value we place on our own privacy, ”Doffman challenges.
According to the review, due to an unfortunate series of events (poorly managed public relations and very poor communication), the WhatsApp disaster that has caused these days that thousands of users have migrated to Signal or Telegram, has distracted the attention to the seriousness that is the invasion of privacy exercised by Facebook Messenger.
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He explains that WhastApp’s main defense when discussing its privacy policies is that it cannot view private messages. But if you’re a Messenger user, be warned, you’re not so lucky.
The WhatsApp app makes more updates and modifications to its platform.
“Facebook admits that you monitor content sent to private messages between users. And Facebook certainly shares all of its metadata with it, another lawsuit that WhatsApp has questioned by its own users and metadata,” he said in his article .
“The perfect illustration of Facebook Messenger’s lack of privacy” came to light when cybersecurity researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakr revealed a year ago that the app “was downloading private attachments sent between users on their own servers, as well as links to shared files and websites. The problem with Messenger accessing your private information is easily solved, that’s what end-to-end encryption is all about, “says Doffman, leaving glimpse that what is not there is will.
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 stops browsing messages and downloading links and attachments.
“It’s this lack of end-to-end encryption that keeps Messenger from working for me. This should be the default for any messaging platform you use. Facebook itself has warned of the risks involved in messaging. it lacks that kind of encryption, and WhatsApp deserves great recognition for universalizing access, making end-to-end encryption available to 2 billion users, ”says Doffman.
According to the expert, end-to-end encryption should not be taken for granted: the fact that we can call and send messages from anywhere in the world, out of danger from the probes of the government network and the bad actors, is a big plus. “One of the ironies of WhatsApp’s reaction is that users are leaving this app, which is end-to-end encrypted by default, by Telegram, which is not,” he points out.
This, he says, puts Facebook practices back in focus and for what he believes users should change to another alternative. He recalls that in 2019, “Mark Zuckerberg argued that private messaging would become the new normal, replacing the social need to share everything, everywhere. This followed the first reports on Facebook’s plans to integrate WhatsApp with DM from Messenger and Instagram, creating a messaging giant that serves nearly 3 billion users. “
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At the time, there were reports that Messenger would be encrypted end-to-end, a major improvement. “But two years later, we haven’t seen any tangible progress, we’ve banned secret conversations, missing messages and some WhatsApp beta code that suggests a developing messaging gateway. However, what we’ve seen is the beginning of this integration, starting with Messenger and Instagram, with no security enhancements in sight, “he notes.
He indicated that, last year, Facebook maintained that it was “very committed to making Messenger encrypted from one end to the other 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 them. their conversations “.
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He also said users should be able to send 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 monitors content, and “health and fitness,” “sensitive information,” and “financial information” are among the mass of user data fields it supports collecting through its Messenger platform.
Adding end-to-end encryption would have been a kind of saving grace for Messenger, as it would prevent content from being monitored, collected, and processed, though it would not protect metadata. “But WhatsApp’s reaction has made millions of people realize that content encryption is not enough on its own.”
Doffman states that “Facebook’s data practices are now visible to everyone, not buried in the small print of the privacy policy. We can all see the ridiculous difference between Messenger and other platforms, though we have yet to understand how this metadata is monetized and how it is used to target us with ads “.
The expert advises: “If you’re still in Messenger or if you’re using direct Instagram messages for anything other than interacting with companies you’re buying from or casual contacts, then it’s time to change. Your choice WhatsApp is still easier given its scale: all your friends and family are potential users. If you want a safer option, run Signal in parallel. It will be more useful as more contacts come together. “
The messaging app Signal is among the top downloads on the Apple Store and Google Play platforms in several countries, after WhatsApp asked its nearly two billion users on January 7, 2021 to accept new terms that it will allow you to share more information with Facebook. Photo / AFP
He states that “with WhatsApp and Signal running in parallel, you will be covered in terms of security and privacy. He adds that, over time, Signal will end up being used by default, but for that all your contacts use it too “.
It ends by suggesting to users that the ideal is to “move all your Facebook Messenger chats and groups to WhatsApp or Signal.
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