{"id":488,"date":"2021-01-23T03:21:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-23T03:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jrn-305-2021\/?p=488"},"modified":"2021-01-31T04:53:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T04:53:48","slug":"whatsapps-updated-privacy-policy-spark-data-security-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/project.journalism.torontomu.ca\/jrn-305-2021\/2021\/01\/23\/whatsapps-updated-privacy-policy-spark-data-security-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"WhatsApp\u2019s updated privacy policy spark data security concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recent changes to WhatsApp\u2019s terms<\/a> and privacy policy<\/a> offer new links between the messaging service and Facebook, its parent company, with users seeing this as a shift in its data safety and privacy practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, WhatsApp users were notified of the service\u2019s updated privacy policy with additional options to discover and communicate with businesses. Users were asked to accept these changes by Feb. 8 or lose access to their account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many users subsequently fled the app, seeking alternative messaging services such as Signal, which offers end-to-end encryption, and Telegram, which offers limited encryption options, wrote Shira Ovide in The New York Times<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signal received about 7.5 million installs globally from the App Store and Google Play, from Jan. 6 to Jan. 10, according to mobile app analytics firm, Sensor Tower as stated in Business Insider<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wall Street Journal<\/a> further explored the pros and cons of Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp and iMessage, acknowledging Signal as the most private app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the updated privacy policy by speaking to Joe Masoodi, policy analyst at the Ryerson Leadership Lab and Cybersecure Policy Exchange:<\/p>\n\n\n\n