We can say little about WhatsApp. It is, without a doubt, the most used messaging application today in Spain and known by everyone. But is it really a reliable program, at least in terms of privacy? Elon Musk doubts this, according to one of his last messages on his social networks. We are going to explain to you what its point of view is and if it really is a platform that can compromise the privacy of users.
What Elon Musk has said is that WhatsApp exports user data every night. This has generated debate on social networks and has raised the alarm among many who want to avoid the slightest risk related to privacy. It didn’t take long for there to be responses from other users of the social network X who think that this is not true and there is no problem with privacy.
Elon Musk says WhatsApp exports data every night
The message is very clear and direct: “WhatsApp exports your user data every night. “There are still people who think that is safe.” That was the message he published a few days ago on his personal account, on the social network
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
WhatsApp exports your user data every night.
Some people still think it is secure. https://t.co/LxDs7t7HSv
May 30, 2024 • 16:10
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But what exactly does it refer to? This is the backup that WhatsApp makes at night. It is something that can be configured to be done locally or uploaded to Google Drive. But beyond that, it refers to the metadata that WhatsApp captures and sends to Meta.
They quickly responded to Elon Musk from WhatsApp. It was through Will Cathcart, head of development and strategy for this platform. He assures that this is not correct, that they take security very seriously and use end-to-end encryption for messages. He indicates that these messages are not exported every night to their servers. But he didn’t mention the issue of metadata.
Will Cathcart
@wcathcart
Many have said this already, but worth repeating: this is not correct.
We take security seriously and that’s why we end-to-end encrypt your messages. They don’t get sent to us every night or exported to us.
If you do want to backup your messages, you can use your cloud provider… https://t.co/ne51zjr4Bw https://t.co/YkI2UEuLUJ
May 30, 2024 • 16:10
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It must be taken into account that, beyond the messages, there is a lot of user data that can be leaked. They can help identify a user, know their location, communication times, how they use the platform, etc. This is what the user mysk_co commented on the social network X and received a “Like” from Musk.
Mysk 🇨🇦🇩🇪
@mysk_co
WhatsApp messages are end-to-end encrypted, but user data is not only about messages. That also includes the metadata such as user location, which contacts the user is communicating with, the patterns of when the user is online, etc. This metadata according to your privacy policy… https://t.co/0jbI8CELFP https://t.co/zfQObgLhgl https://t.co/mCn1akAMg4
May 30, 2024 • 16:10
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Increase privacy
Therefore, we can say that WhatsApp can share data with Meta, regardless of the messages. What you can do, as a user, is increase your privacy as much as possible. You can use settings so that others get less information about you, such as not making the image public to those who are not your contacts, the time you last connected, etc.
We can say that WhatsApp is a safe platform, like many other similar ones, but there is always the risk that certain information, even if it is minimal, could end up in the wrong hands. That is why it is always a good idea to review the configuration carefully and not expose more than necessary.
In case your mobile is hacked, it is key to act as soon as possible. In that case, they could further compromise your personal data and control applications like WhatsApp.
