Explainer: WhatsApp users risk losing accounts over agreement
- WhatsApp has made headlines around the world after changing its terms of service
- This move forces users to share personal data, including numbers and location with Facebook
- Briefly.co.za explores the situation in a bid to explore why the move is making waves
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WhatsApp has long marketed itself as a privacy-focused service but a recent shift has seen people opting out of using the messaging platform.
Source: Getty Images
WhatsApp announced on Wednesday that users will need to agree to allow Facebook and subsidiaries to collect data including phone numbers, location and more.
If users fail to agree to these terms by 8 February they will lose access to WhatsApp completely.
This has prompted many to call for users to delete their accounts and switch to other encrypted messaging apps like Telegram and Signal.
Elon Musk was among the many who recommended a switch to alternatives, suggesting Signal.
Facebook purchased WhatsApp 7 years ago and a spokesperson told Ars Technica that the change was in order to allow businesses to store WhatsApp chats using Facebook's infrastructure.
Brian Acton and Jan Koun, WhatsApp's founders, opted to leave the company a few years back. Acton has voiced his displeasure with the situation, calling for people to delete Facebook.
Koum's departure from the company coincided with reports that he had clashed with management over user privacy on the messaging app.
Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za reported earlier that after several months, Elon Musk of Tesla has finally become the richest man on the planet, displacing Amazon Boss Jeff Bezos.
What made that possible was a 4.8% share price increase of Tesla Inc on Thursday, January 7, which secured Elon’s first place among the world’s 500 richest people, Bloomberg reports.
As of 10:15am, the co-owner of the electronic car company was worth $188.5 billion as he made a gain of $1.5 billion over the Amazon chief.
Recall that the businessman was projected to soon become the richest person in the world as he trailed Bezos after his nett worth soared to $184.5 billion.
It was gathered that Tesla's stock price jumped 4.9% on Wednesday, January 6, making it possible for Musk to trail Bezos by $3 billion.
It should be noted that Jeff Bezos had held the one-of-a-kind position since October 2017.
The new richest man is also his strong competitor in the private space business. Over several months, Musk has had his massive nett worth grow by $150 billion.
One of the things that also contributed to that was how Tesla stock price rose by 743% in 2020, a year full of upheaval that marked a streak of continuous profit for him.
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Source: Briefly News
