WhatsApp losing users to Signal and Telegram after updated terms
- WhatApp is bleeding customers after they released an update to their terms of service
- The communication firm is owned by Facebook which said it would be using WhatsApp user's data
- This has resulted in an increase in downloads for communication apps Signal and Telegram
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Since WhatsApp issued users with a notification of an update to the companies terms of service, users have flocked to communication apps Signal and Telegram.
Sensor Tower, a data analytics company revealed that 100 000 users downloaded Signal and Telegram downloads jumped by 2.2 million.
WhatsApp is owned by Facebook which has told users that the social media company would be collecting WhatsApp user's data.
Source: Getty Images
Tech experts and app users were highly critical of the new update.
Editor-In-Chief of Fast Company (SA) magazine, Wesley Diphoko said that this was a complete U-turn by Facebook who had previously promised its users that they would not use their data.
This accompanied by Donald Trump's social media ban has led to a spike in users switching to other communication apps.
Social media users took to Twitter to share their reactions to WhatsApp's change to its terms of service:
@hammad479:
"#WhatsAppheadquarters after reading *boycott whatsapp* at whatsapp statuses."
@RoryPetzer:
"Zuckerberg's just waiting for Black Friday to buy Telegram and Signal too."
@PaikinAndEggs:
"'Telegram me' or 'send me a Signal' are gonna be confusing in the coming months."
Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that WhatsApp has long marketed itself as a privacy-focused service but a recent shift has seen people opting out of using the messaging platform.
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.
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.
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Source: Briefly News
