Whatsapp update mandatory full#
Whatsapp update mandatory android#

Whatsapp update mandatory android#

“I use an Android,” WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart said last month, “because if you look at WhatsApp’s user base, we are very Android heavy. “iMessage is a key linchpin of their ecosystem-which is why iMessage is the most used messaging service in the U.S.” “We increasingly see Apple as one of our biggest competitors,” he said. WhatsApp and parent Facebook see iMessage as a threat-it boasts more users in the U.S., as Zuckerberg acknowledged in January. iMessage itself (not SMS texts sent over iMessage) is more secure than WhatsApp, offering multiple end-to-end encrypted endpoints, encrypted backup equivalents (subject to a user’s settings) and now a sandbox. Earlier in the month, it taunted Facebook after CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s cell number, which was leaked in a Facebook breach, was linked to a Signal account.īut Apple apparently took the view that this would undermine iMessage’s stickiness and so it remained Apple-only. Here at Signal, we know nothing,” Signal tweeted earlier in the month, in a swipe at WhatsApp (and others) which store contact details, group names and login metadata outside end-to-end encryption. “The reality is,” says application security researcher, Sean Wright, “if you can work WhatsApp, you can work Signal.” That may sound simple, but it wasn’t always the case. “Use an alternative if you take your own privacy seriously,” security writer Mike Thompson advises WhatsApp users, advocating for Signal instead. But Signal, the other main beneficiary, an uber-secure platform part backed by WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, is more private and secure. Telegram is NOT end-to-end encrypted by default, storing users’ messages and media on its own cloud platform. Leaving for Telegram over privacy fears is a nonsense.

“We understand some people may check out other apps to see what they have to offer,” WhatsApp says, “we’ve seen some of our competitors try to get away with claiming they can’t see people’s messages-if an app doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption by default that means they can read your messages.” Īhead of May 15, WhatsApp has taken a swipe at Telegram, the biggest winner from January’s backlash.

Unfortunately for WhatsApp, the comparisons with rivals-other than Facebook Messenger, unsurprisingly-suggest it’s not just “some limited data,” as you can see in the chart below, published on Forbes back in January. “We believe people are looking for apps to be both reliable and safe, even if that requires WhatsApp having some limited data.” “Other apps say they’re better because they know even less information than WhatsApp,” says WhatsApp. And as the date draws near, you can assume that the warnings to accept the new terms will become ever more urgent. There will likely be a new look and feel to your app-you’ll see messages coming in but you won’t be able to read them or reply to them or send anything new. It’s unclear what comprises a “short time,” and whether there will be a guillotine on May 15, immediately blocking access to messages.

Whatsapp update mandatory full#

So, what happens if you don’t accept new terms by May 15? WhatsApp says it won’t delete your account, despite reports suggesting otherwise, “however, you won't have full functionality of WhatsApp until you accept for a short time, you'll be able to receive calls and notifications, but won't be able to read or send messages.” And many users are now wary, with tens of millions having reportedly switched to alternatives and a risk that many more may now follow. In combination with WhatsApp’s privacy label, which was starkly different to its key rivals, the update has shone an awkward light on the world’s leading data harvester owning the world’s leading secure messenger. That might be the reality, but the perception is much worse. Your normal messages remain secure, and Facebook isn’t getting much more out of WhatsApp data-wise than it had before. If you choose to chat with businesses over WhatsApp, then you’ll be doing so under different terms than with your personal contacts. In reality, the risks around the update itself have been overblown.