Just throwing my hat in the ring here.
Firstly. No, enough already. Stop using whatsapp. Stop using software by a company (Facebook) that’s sole purpose is to sell your data for profit. It does that by siphoning every single bit of information it can possible get it’s hands on, from multiple sources. And then sells it. They do little or no good in the world compared to the harm it does. Add to that, the disasters we know of, Cambridge Analytica (and many others), the ability to influence elections, to act with almost no oversight, regulation or repercussion…Do you really want to be involved with this?
More insight and info:
- The Guardian, If you’re not terrified about Facebook, you haven’t been paying attention
- https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2021/01/changes-in-whatsapps-privacy-policy.html
- https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/whatsapp-users-must-share-their-data-with-facebook-or-stop-using-the-app/
So what then? Well you have very good alternatives.
Signal is best in class. Hands-down the first choice if you care about privacy or may do in the future. It offers many of the same features as Whatsapp and Telegram but with a 100% confidence that your data is your data. It’s owned and operated by a not-for-profit organisation.
Get it here: https://signal.org/download/
More info:
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/11/whatsapp-facebook-app-privacy-policy
- https://www.wired.com/story/ditch-all-those-other-messaging-apps-heres-why-you-should-use-signal/
- https://signal.org/#signal
Telegram sits somewhere in-between these two. And is a good option for those looking for a drop-in replacement for Whatsapp and do not care about any future issues should there be a change of position or ownership.
Get it here: https://telegram.org/dl
But whatever you do, it’s time to walk away from Facebook.