Everybody knows what WhatsApp is – the instant messaging platform which was acquired by Facebook in 2014 and is used by over two billion users around the globe. In 2016, WhatsApp declared that it had updated its app to use end-to-end encryption which was possible with the help of the Signal encrypted messaging protocol.

Now, ever since WhatsApp confirmed its new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service which state that it will share certain user data with Facebook and other Facebook products, there has been palpable rage and fear on social media. People believe this is another way for the Facebook behemoth to collect data and make a mess of it. In their new terms of service, WhatsApp says that it will track user location and collect IP address and phone number codes to estimate your general location – even if you turn off location access for WhatsApp on your Android smartphone or on your iPhone.

Also Read: Facebook Criticises Apple’s Privacy Policy, Says It ‘Limits Business’

Signal is a much safer alternative that is used by Elon Musk, Edward Snowden and Jack Dorsey. On Wednesday, Elon Musk tweeted a meme criticising Facebook for helping neo-nazis and Trump supporters organise a mob that held a siege of the US Capitol. In a subsequent tweet, he asked people to use Signal and his tweet was endorsed by Edward Snowden.

Signal Messenger LLC works under the Signal Foundation which is a non-profit like Mozilla and hence, is not owned by any major tech companies and cannot be acquired by one. Signal’s source code is publicly available, allowing security experts around the world to look at it for problems. On Signal, everything is encrypted including your profile picture, your voice/video calls, photos, location pins and yes, even GIFs.

By the way, Facebook also owns GIPHY.

Earlier, Facebook wasn’t very happy with Apple’s new update which allows the user to grant an app permission to be able to monitor their online activities.

Facebook bought full-page ads in newspapers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other newspapers stating that Apple’s new rules “limit businesses’ ability to run personalised ads and reach their customers effectively”.

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