Stop Using Whatsapp
It’s disheartening to go against what is a lost cause. To tell someone to stop using whatsapp in India is like ripping off their right to communicate freely. Nobody cares about privacy around here. If someone likes me tells them their favorite messaging app is invasive, they tend to prompt questions that imply I may have something to hide. Well in truth, Whatsapp is a closed-source, zuckbook-backed, data-mining company, which in many ways is compromised. With this in mind, you cannot argue that you don’t care about privacy and it is stupid.
Edward Snowden said it best: “Arguing that you don’t care about privacy becaue you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say”
- What is worse?
Whatsapp falsely claims to be a private messaging app, providing end-to-end encryption to your messages. In reality, Whatsapp moderators1 can read your messages, and they love to share your metadata with law enforcement and other third-party companies, not only because it has to comply, or earn a profit, but to build a relationship map.
A relationship map is an identity that can be derived from just who you associate with, which basically just cancels out the encryption and privacy claim. One could argue that the constant lies is the problem, but you need to ask yourself, if whatsapp was a person, would you trust it?
Here’s a fun fact: The Zuck himself does not use whatsapp. Yet we Indians are accustomed to Good Morning texts and “forwards” that our minds have become numb, like the lizard person dumb founded by gathering all that data.
I agree it is hard to break loose from this dopamine induced eco-system. After all, the primary reason why people can’t stop using whatsapp is because everyone is on it, akin to the same problem instagram suffers with. If your friends and family use whatsapp, instagram and zuckbook, one must be mad to think of using an alternative. Moreover, to succeed at bringing all your friends and family into a different platform is like compelling them to the dance floor.
This is one of those gotcha moments of the Zuck; a trap designed to chain your freedom. But if you are someone who values privacy and respects yourself, I would suggest you to try Signal and encourage others to use it. It is a better app for personal and intimate conversations with your friends and family.