WASHINGTON: When WhatsApp<\/a> users began to raise concerns about a new privacy policy<\/a> being rolled out, members of a Washington pickup soccer group decided to switch their communications to rival messaging platform Signal, ditching the Facebook-owned service.

The shift was \"about moving as many users away from the Facebook<\/a> empire, which for my liking has become way too big and powerful,\" said Bernhard Fleck, one of the players.

The flap over WhatsApp's privacy policy -- described by Facebook as a misunderstanding about efforts to bring businesses onto the platform --threatens to erode trust in the service which is increasingly important to the leading social network's future. The California giant last month delayed implementation of a new policy which critics said could expand data collection from some two billion WhatsApp users around the world. Even with the delay in place, the policy caused an uproar and prompted a surge in interest in rival messaging services such as Signal and Telegram. A WhatsApp blog post cited \"confusion\" over the policy update and maintained that it \"does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.\"

The update concerns how merchants using WhatsApp to chat with customers can share data with Facebook, which could use the information for targeted ads, according to the social network. The policy will be reviewed and won't be implemented before May 15, according to the company. Ryan Calo, a privacy researcher with the University of Washington's Tech Policy Lab, said that even though many users misinterpreted the new policy, the backlash is understandable.

\"The original sin was purchasing WhatsApp and folding it into the business model of Facebook which monetizes all the data they have,\" Calo said. \"The changes aren't as dystopian as some people are thinking. But it is moving to a model that many people don't trust.\"

WhatsApp, acquired in 2014 for some $19 billion -- the largest sale of a venture-backed firm at the time -- is seen as a strategic asset for Facebook as it faces slowing growth for its core social network and looks to expand its offerings for connecting users and businesses. The controversy comes as Facebook seeks to integrate its \"family\" of applications with a common technology and provide more ways for people and businesses to connect, while US antitrust enforcers meanwhile press to \"unwind\" Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram.

Merrill Lynch analyst Justin Post said in a recent research note that \"we continue to see WhatsApp as an important driver of potential future Facebook stock value\" and predicted that the social media giant would overcome these issues as it did with the Cambridge Analytica political scandal. With easy connections for voice and video calls, WhatsApp has a strong global user base but has not begun any meaningful monetization of the service, said Jasmine Enberg, senior analyst of global trends at the research firm eMarketer.

\"It was only a matter of time before Facebook worked out a way to make it into a revenue stream,\" Enberg said. She added that since Facebook has apparently ruled out using WhatsApp for advertising, it is moving toward making it an e-commerce platform along the lines of China's WeChat with business tools for customer service and support. Privacy advocates point out that WhatsApp has in fact been sharing data with Facebook since it implemented a new policy in 2016, except from users who opted out at that time. Data from European Union users has also been excluded without affirmative consent under EU privacy laws. Indicating that WhatsApp users could no longer opt out last month, \"was a little insulting to people's intelligence,\" said Gennie Gebhart, a privacy researcher with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

\"A lot of people joined WhatsApp to get away from Facebook, but now they are seeing they are sharing their data with that company,\" she said. But Gebhart said users have limited options now because of the so-called \"network effect\" -- with so many people on WhatsApp, it's difficult to move away from the free service. According to eMarketer data from last year, WhatsApp had more than 99 percent of mobile messaging app users in Brazil, 97 percent in India and 52 percent in the United States.

Enberg said the latest privacy dust-up is unlikely to slow momentum for WhatsApp and Facebook, especially since there is often a \"disconnect\" between what people say and what they do on privacy. \"Sure, many people left and more may leave,\" she said, \"But it's unlikely we will see a mass exodus. And WhatsApp's user base is already so large, it would take precisely that to make a significant dent.\"

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Facebook担心WhatsApp隐私政策行可能损害它的未来

皮瓣可能侵蚀信任服务越来越重要的社交网络的未来。

法新社

2021年2月12日更新是05:47点

华盛顿:当WhatsApp用户开始提高一个新的担忧隐私政策被推出,华盛顿皮卡足球组织成员决定开关信号通讯与消息传递平台,放弃Facebook-owned服务。

这种转变是“当许多用户离开去脸谱网帝国,这对我的喜欢已经成为太大而有力,“Bernhard Fleck说,球员之一。

皮瓣在WhatsApp Facebook的隐私政策,被误解努力,使企业在平台——可能会侵蚀信任服务越来越重要的世界领先的社交网络的未来。加利福尼亚巨型上个月推迟实施新政策的批评者说,可以扩大数据收集来自世界各地二十亿WhatsApp用户。即使延迟,这个政策引起了一场轩然大波,促使兴趣激增信号和信息服务等竞争对手的电报。WhatsApp博客帖子提到“混乱”的政策更新和维护,它“不扩大我们共享数据与Facebook的能力。”

更新关注如何使用WhatsApp商家与客户聊天可以与Facebook分享数据,可以使用信息有针对性的广告,根据社交网络。实现的政策将被回顾,不会在5月15日之前,据该公司。隐私莱恩•卡罗华盛顿大学的研究员的科技政策实验室,说,虽然很多用户误解新政策,反弹是可以理解的。

“原罪是采购WhatsApp折叠成脸谱网的商业模式,中国的所有数据,“卡洛说。“变化并不像有些人反乌托邦思想。但这是搬到一个模式,很多人不相信。”

WhatsApp, 2014年收购190亿美元,当时最大的风险投资支持公司销售——被视为战略资产为Facebook作为其核心社交网络将面临经济增长放缓,对连接用户和企业扩大产品。争议之际,Facebook试图集成的“家庭”应用程序与一个共同的技术,为个人和企业提供更多的方式连接,而美国的反垄断执法者同时按“放松”Facebook的收购WhatsApp和Instagram。

美林(Merrill Lynch)分析师Justin Post说在最近的一份研究报告中指出,“我们继续看到WhatsApp作为未来潜在的重要推动力Facebook股票价值”和预测社交媒体巨头将克服这些问题就像—剑桥的政治丑闻。与简单的语音和视频通话联系,WhatsApp拥有强大的全球用户基础,但还没有开始服务的任何有意义的货币化,茉莉花Enberg说,高级分析师在研究公司eMarketer的全球趋势。

“这只是一个时间问题Facebook工作办法使它成为一个收入来源,“Enberg说。她补充说,因为Facebook显然排除了使用WhatsApp广告,这是朝着使其电子商务平台的中国的微信业务工具对客户服务和支持。隐私倡导者指出WhatsApp事实上已经共享数据与Facebook自2016年实施了一项新政策,除了用户选择退出。欧盟的数据用户也被排除在外,没有根据欧盟隐私法的明确同意。表明WhatsApp用户可以不再上月退出,“有点侮辱人的情报,“Gennie Gebhart说,隐私与电子前沿基金会研究员。

“很多人加入WhatsApp离开Facebook,但现在他们看到公司共享他们的数据,”她说。但Gebhart说用户现在有有限的选择,因为所谓的“网络效应”——很多人在WhatsApp,很难摆脱免费服务。根据eMarketer数据从去年,WhatsApp有超过99%的移动消息传递应用程序用户在巴西,97%在印度,52%在美国。

Enberg说最新的隐私不太可能WhatsApp势头放缓和虚报Facebook,特别是之间通常会有“断开”人们说什么和他们所做的隐私。“当然,许多人离开了,将会有更多的人离开,”她说,“但我们不太可能将看到一大批。和WhatsApp的用户群已经如此之大,需要精确产生重大影响。”