WHATSAPP'S recent move to update its privacy policy has caused public concern and mixed reactions from its users in Malaysia. The messaging service, owned by Facebook, is seeking users' agreement to share their personal data or stop using the application after Feb 8.
Commenting on the move by WhatsApp, National Tech Association of Malaysia (Pikom) chairman Danny Lee said technology must be used with good intentions and of good use for the future, benefits the communities and positively impact the economy.
"As long as how the data is processed and used in a well-regulated manner, there should be no fear among users. We have the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 that outlines the data protection principles that all must adhere to.
"In addition, there is clear transparency of the process and not surreptitiously done.
"We should be able to welcome it. It is important to understand and be clear that transmission of content and messages remain confidential at all levels," he added.
WE'VE BEEN SHARING INFORMATION
On Tuesday, the Facebook-owned messaging service clarified in its tweet that there was "a lot of misinformation" about an update to the terms of service regarding an option to use WhatsApp to message businesses, as said by Facebook's executive Adam Mosseri.
The update regards how merchants using WhatsApp to communicate with customers can share data with Facebook, which can use the information for targeting ads, according to the social network.
"We can't see your private messages or hear your calls, and neither can Facebook.
"We don't keep logs of who everyone is messaging or calling. We can't see your shared location and neither can Facebook," WhatsApp said in its blog post.
WhatsApp's move has also resulted in rival messaging apps like Telegram and Signal recording millions of new registrations.
Telegram has registered 25 million new users in the past 72 hours, while Signal said it also saw a surge in demand.
Commenting further on this, Lee said without many users realising it, they share their information and whereabouts all the time on social media, on their phones and whenever they check into places.
"However, this information is limited to safe tracking, contact tracing and our consent to share for no purpose of harm."
Lee, however, said it was important for users to understand the consequences of sharing information that could be breached through data theft and hacking.
"It is imperative on the service providers to ensure that their usage policies are clearly communicated with the users."
Should the current users desire to abandon WhatsApp or any messaging platform for that matter, Lee said, it was important to read the fine print in terms of usage/service of any messaging platform before agreeing to use the service.
"We encourage users to carefully go through all details relating to data protection and security of any messaging platform before downloading and using any. Always have the option to choose the safest mode of communication online that would be most suited to their needs."
SECURITY PERSPECTIVE
Meanwhile, Internet security company Kaspersky said most messaging apps were relatively safe since they used encryption when sending messages.
"On iOS, this fact makes such applications really reliable. However, it's worth remembering that the user may face an attack on the device or an attempt by attackers to infect it.
"That's why, on Android, the situation is different. For example, there is a built-in Accessibility Service," said Kaspersky's mobile threat researcher Victor Chebyshev.
He said attackers were known to have exploited the capabilities of this service to collect user data.
"Last year, we discovered a stalkerware that could receive the text of incoming and outgoing messages from instant messengers using this standard function," said Chebyshev.
For technopreneur Adrian Wong, he said users had long lost their privacy data way before WhatsApp's new policy announcement.
"We have always been enjoying free apps. When something is free, the users are always the product.
"Even before this policy, we know that Facebook, (via its) Facebook messenger has been mining our data," he said.
"This policy just makes it legal and above board. Users will now be tracked more, and targeted advertisement will be more prevalent. Maybe WhatsApp will show relevant advertisements within the app, which may annoy users," he added.
DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
Shared information is always a double-edged sword.
"It can serve the greater good to build better apps and even optimise apps for countries with slow connectivity.
"But if the data falls into the wrong hands and it's controlled by only one major corporation; it will act as a judge, jury and prosecutor, and lock you out of the network by banning your digital personality without any way of redeeming yourself.
"In this case, users can limit what they share and other options of existing social media and messaging apps," said Wong.
Another user, Samual Tan, who is the co-founder of Welcome to Puchong Facebook page, said the WhatsApp privacy policy update might be a concern for some people.
"The WhatsApp development is a good opportunity to raise more awareness on privacy, which requires constant reminders and education among consumers," he said.
"For privacy-conscious users, they would be in a paranoid state when choosing which app to communicate with the world," he added.
Tan, however, finds it useful to keep a separate phone number and account for private WhatsApp purposes.
For marketing practitioner Hazel Hassan believed that despite the concern people had regarding the issue, WhatsApp would still be practising end-to-end encrypted messages.
"Due to this, Facebook, and WhatsApp could not see our text messages. These include pictures and audio notes," she said.
"However, if the purpose of this data sharing — that is done legally — is to ensure that social media platforms are more convenient to use, it will likely show only content that is catered to our likings on other Facebook products.
"As a marketing practitioner, social media platforms are vehicles that we use and reach out to for information, ideas, and running our businesses."