As many of you might have heard by now, WhatsApp has made some changes to its privacy policy where it basically says that your data will be shared with Facebook. The company did previously allow users to opt out of the data-sharing a while ago, but now it looks like it’s either you share your data or you stop using the app.
Some of you might feel a bit uncomfortable sharing more data with Facebook, so much so that it seems that quite a number of people are starting to flock to alternative apps such as Signal. According to a tweet by Signal, it seems that they are experiencing an influx of new signups to the point where verification codes are being delayed.
Verification codes are currently delayed across several providers because so many new people are trying to join Signal right now (we can barely register our excitement). We are working with carriers to resolve this as quickly as possible. Hang in there.
— Signal (@signalapp) January 7, 2021
The developer notes that they are working with carriers to try and resolve the issue, but like we said, it seems to hint that a lot of people are now seeking alternatives to WhatsApp. It might be tricky because if you have a lot of contacts still using WhatsApp, it would be hard to convince everyone to make the switch, plus there are a lot of businesses that also rely on WhatsApp for communications.
WhatsApp is currently one of the largest messaging platforms in the world right now so it’s hard to imagine an exodus of users from the platform.
Filed in . Read more about Apps, Facebook, Privacy, Signal and Whatsapp.