Why you don’t need to join the great WhatsApp migration

Virtual crowds have gathered on Facebook and Facebook Messenger – which collects more data than WhatsApp – to object to WhatsApp collecting the same amount of data.

If they had listened to the experts many could have been spared being swept up in a wild international spike in hysteria and the mass migration from WhatsApp (bought by Facebook a few years ago) to Telegram and Signal. 

One of those experts is Emma Sadleir, founder of the Digital Law Company who specialises in education about that liminal space – online and social media groups.

By 11 January 2021 Sadleir had been so inundated with questions and messages that she wanted to address some of the “unfounded” hysteria in an online tutorial.

And no, your WhatsApp messages are encrypted so no one will be able to access or read them or gaze in amazement at the vanilla cake you just baked. 

What WhatsApp will be able to do is see how frequently you contact someone, and perhaps later suggest them as a friend on Facebook, even though you will probably never meet and be friends in real life.

People who have migrated to Telegram, said Sadlier, had better brace themselves since the platform would soon monetise. And the bad news for the Telegrammers is that it allows larger groups than WhatsApp. 

The only thing Signal collects is your number, so for those wishing to fly below the radar, it’s your corner.