Major privacy concerns have been raised surrounding Facebook’s recent plans to merge Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. This integration will allow cross-messaging between the three platforms (which will all still operate as standalone apps), so users could talk to their Messenger-only friends without leaving WhatsApp. However, as far as users are concerned, there is very little they can do if they wish to use WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger. Having said that users must get selective about what they share and also update privacy settings for each of the apps.
Although social media is a great way to keep your friends and family in the loop on your daily life, be conservative about the information you put on the internet. Additionally, be cautious of what you send through messaging platforms, especially when it comes to your personally identifiable information, suggests McAfee.
Also, you must update the privacy settings. To make sure that you’re sharing your status with just your intended audience, check your privacy settings. Choose which apps you wish to share your location with and turn your profiles to private if you don’t want all users to have access to your information.
While Facebook’s plans to merge the messaging platforms are not yet finalised, the company is in the process of rebuilding the underlying infrastructure so that users who might utilise only one of the apps will be able to communicate with others within the company’s ecosystem. Facebook plans to include end-to-end encryption for the apps, ensuring that only the participants of a conversation can view the messages being sent. By allowing each app to speak to one another across platforms, Facebook hopes users become more engaged and use this as their primary messaging service.
But Facebook’s messaging changes have greater implications for online safety as consumers become more protective of their data. For example, WhatsApp only requires a phone number to sign up for the app while Facebook asks users to verify their identities. Will this force more data to be shared with WhatsApp, or will its encryption become less secure? While nothing has been finalised, it’s important for users to think about how the information they share online could be affected by this merge.
