The messaging platform can now use personal data legally for its business; for Meta, you're a product, not a user
Let’s face it, we cannot survive without WhatsApp. It has replaced email as the semiformal form of communication.
I am not going to go into the diatribe about how WhatsApp forwards have been used to spread hate or propagate fake news. That happens and it’s a fact.
The argument today is about WhatsApp’s parent company — Meta (Facebook).
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Product and not a user
A rather disturbing trend has begun where WhatsApp has extensively started pushing adverts in the shape of WhatsApp chats.
These ads will be parked so harmlessly between your family and friends’ WhatsApp groups that you will not find anything wrong at first. But this is the slow start of you becoming more and more the product and not a user.
The origins of this date back to 2014, when Facebook acquired WhatsApp.
This is what the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) wrote: “When Facebook was considering acquiring WhatsApp, privacy activists read the writing on the wall and warned about potential data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook. To allay these concerns, executives from WhatsApp publicly committed to never share data with Facebook. Based on these assurances, regulators such as the European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission greenlit the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook.”
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WhatsApp’s volte face
We did not have to wait for long. WhatsApp’s volte-face came in 2016 in the form of a policy update that announced that user information would be shared with Facebook.
This is what IFF said then: “WhatsApp announced that it would start sharing some data with Facebook including phone numbers and last seen activity. At that time, WhatsApp stated that the changes in its privacy policy would allow Facebook to offer better friend suggestions and more relevant ads to its users.
"Users were given 30 days to opt out of sharing data with Facebook for ad targeting purposes but if they failed to exercise that option within 30 days, they would have no choice but to consent to data sharing. Any new users who joined after August 2016 would also not have the choice to opt out of sharing data with Facebook.”
The Big Bang change
WhatsApp landed in trouble with the European Union over this. Even in India, a legal battle began. While WhatsApp battled fines and court battles ensued, the Big Bang change to their policy came in 2021 — completely exposing their plan.
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This is what IFF says: “According to a statement by WhatsApp, the main change introduced by the new privacy policy released on 04 January 2021 is clarifying that ‘going forward businesses can choose to receive secure hosting services from our parent company Facebook to help manage their communications with their customers on WhatsApp.’
"This means that Facebook may now have access to messages that users share with businesses on WhatsApp. This has been admitted by Facebook and the company claims that it ‘will not automatically use messages to inform the ads that a user sees’ but ‘businesses will be able to use chats they receive for their own marketing purposes, which may include advertising on Facebook.’
"Considering Facebook’s past record on privacy, we will let you decide whether these assurances can be trusted.”
Data is free to be traded
The matter was kept on hold by the Competition Commission of India, which ordered a hold on any sharing of information for at least five years. But, in January 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) permitted WhatsApp to share its metadata with Facebook and Instagram.
The NCLAT bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, in a judgment oozing empathy for Facebook, said: “The ban of five years which was imposed may lead to the collapse of the business model. WhatsApp’s privacy policy could disrupt the platform’s business model that has been followed by WhatsApp LLC. It is also relevant to notice that WhatsApp is providing WhatsApp services to its users free of cost.”
What’s amazing about this argument is that WhatsApp’s service is free and therefore it must be entitled to trade your data for its business. Because, it makes business sense for them. Privacy be damned?
You know the other amazing thing? You have no option to opt out of this. There is no paid or premium ad-free version of WhatsApp for customers.
What lies ahead?
So, imagine this.
Your WhatsApp is free. You are completely dependent on it and cannot delete it, as everything in this world works on WhatsApp. You may try using other apps like Signal and Telegram, but their universe is extremely limited.
WhatsApp can now use personal data legally for its business; that is, your cycle from consumer to product is complete. There is only one solution to rid yourself of this perpetual defaulter called WhatsApp: Mass migration to safer modes of communication.
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Otherwise, the day is not far where your WhatsApp audio and video calls will be interrupted with ads in the name of business.
Or, by the time you hang up after an angry call with your wife, WhatsApp shall be ready with a list of divorce lawyers, some of them fairly close to you.
I can go out on a limb to say this ain’t fiction anymore.
(The Federal seeks to present views and opinions from all sides of the spectrum. The information, ideas or opinions in the articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Federal.)
