Facebook demands your data. #SayNoToFacebook
When Facebook purchased WhatsApp back in 2014, Facebook promised not to link user data between the two services, and WhatsApp continued to be thought of as a private messaging system. In January 2021 Facebook announced that WhatsApp’s 2 billion plus users will have to agree to share their personal information with Facebook or their accounts will be deleted.If you are like us, you are not cool with someone forcing you to give out your personal information.This is what you can do instead!
Why you need To say no to facebook & Ditch WhatsApp before February 8th
WhatsApp is changing its terms of service to force users to share personal data, including phone numbers, location and other personal information, with its parent company Facebook. According to a WhatsApp spokesperson, the change is being made to allow businesses to store WhatsApp chats using Facebook infrastructure. Users must agree before February 8th or they will lose access.
Time to switch from WhatsApp. This is what you can use instead...
We live in the age of constant surveillance.Secure messaging apps enable you to communicate without worrying about anyone listening in or collecting your personal information. Facebook’s decision to force WhatsApp users to share data means that Facebook will now have access to your location, phone number, mobile device information, IP address, and other personal information. So what to do?We have created a list of the most secure messaging apps on the market, and we have analyzed the pros and cons of each:
1. Signal
2. Volta
3. Telegram
4. Wickr
Read on to find out more!
Secure Messenging Apps: Pros & Cons
Signal
Famous endorsers of the app include Edward Snowden and former WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton.
- End-to-end (E2E) encryption
- Encryption algorithms: Signal protocol, with Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS)
- Open source
- Disappearing messages
- Does not log IP Addresses
- Does not support 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)
- Requires a telephone number to sign up
- Dependent on donations from Silicon Valley to survive
- Has been hacked by governments before
Volta
Although relatively new, Volta is the most secure and is privately owned, fully self-funded with no outside investment.
- Multi-layer Encryption including End-to-end (E2E) encryption
- Encryption algorithms: RSA-2048, RC4+, AES-256, Curve25519, ECDH, HMAC-SHA256
- Holistic data privacy solution with 3-apps-in-1: Messenger, VPN & Secure Mobile Payments
- Offers the option to obtain a new phone number to be used with Volta Mobile
- Does not log IP addresses
- Completely anonymous accounts
- They keep you informed about security matters via their cool newsletter
- Independent of the big guys
- Not based on a donations model that may not be sustainable long term
- Has never been hacked.
- New player so not many users yet
Since it is the most secure, we believe it deserves more users. You can find it on the app store and the play store.
Telegram
Founded by Russian Pavel Durov, who’s also behind Russia’s largest social network VKontakte, often called “the Russian Facebook”
- End-to-end (E2E) encryption
- Encryption algorithms: MTProto, a custom protocol
- Open source
- Disappearing messages
- Supports Two-Step Verification
- E2E encryption only for Secret Chats
- Logs IP Address
- Requires a telephone number to sign up
- Has been hacked by governments before
- VKontakte does all the same data collection and selling of its users’ data as Facebook. No one really knows if Telegram collects data or not
Wickr
Mostly focused on the corporate market and not the individual user. Often called “Snapchat for adults” because of its ephemeral messaging.
- End-to-end encryption
- Encryption algorithms: AES 256, ECDH521, and RSA 4096, with Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS)
- Disappearing messages
- Does not log IP addresses
- Despite being around for several years, still not many users yet
- Requires email for signup
- Dependent on donations from Silicon Valley to survive
- Has been hacked by governments before