Whatsapp to share user data with facebook & allow advertising messages

[elsiegee40]

WhatsApp says it will begin sharing more data with Facebook (including phone numbers) and will start letting some companies send messages to users.

 

You can opt out - instructions in article!

 

WhatsApp users to receive adverts | BBC News

[tg12]

Personally, I think there's already been phone numbers passed between Whatsapp and Facebook. I noticed last year that a friend I contacted through Whatsapp suddenly appeared in "People You May Know" on my Facebook account. Now, with no mutual friends, living in very different areas and no obvious online connection other than Whatsapp, I became very suspicious. I could be wrong but I wouldn't put it past Facebook!

[elsiegee40]

Personally, I think there's already been phone numbers passed between Whatsapp and Facebook. I noticed last year that a friend I contacted through Whatsapp suddenly appeared in "People You May Know" on my Facebook account. Now, with no mutual friends, living in very different areas and no obvious online connection other than Whatsapp, I became very suspicious. I could be wrong but I wouldn't put it past Facebook!

 

I must admit that I have been wondering too. There's no other explanation for some of the suggested facebook friends

[Norphy]

Can I just pay for the service instead? I'd rather that than be spammed by Farcebook's partners

[Arthur]

There's no other explanation for some of the suggested facebook friends

Shadow profiles, tracking cookies and personal information obtained from friends? Tracking you across multiple devices is trivial for Facebook whether you are signed into your account or not.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if they could also track you offline by your proximity to other smartphones users who have the Facebook app installed even if you don't.

 

A Facebook shadow profile is a file that Facebook keeps on you containing data it pulls up from looking at the information that a user’s friends voluntarily provide. You’re not supposed to see it, or even know it exists. This collection of information can include phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and other pertinent data about a user that they don’t necessarily put on their public profile. Even if you never gave Facebook your second email address or your home phone number, they may still have it on file, since anyone who uses the “Find My Friends” feature allows Facebook to scan their contacts. So if your friend has your contact info on her phone and uses that feature, Facebook can match your name to that information and add it to your file. (Source)

 

 

Facebook tracks the web browsing of everyone who visits a page on its site even if the user does not have an account or has explicitly opted out of tracking in the EU, extensive research commissioned by the Belgian data protection agency has revealed.

 

[...]

 

When a user visits a third-party site that carries one of Facebook’s social plug-ins, it detects and sends the tracking cookies back to Facebook - even if the user does not interact with the Like button, Facebook Login or other extension of the social media site. (Source)

 

I noticed last year that a friend I contacted through Whatsapp suddenly appeared in "People You May Know" on my Facebook account.

Your friend had probably already uploaded your contact details to Facebook's servers.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Arthur

[elsiegee40]

I'm still not entirely sure how facebook came up with a former colleague of Mr gee40's as a suggested friend.

 

The gentleman concerned is an Indian national living and working in India (Mr gee40 was based out there for a couple of years - I didn't go)

 

Mr gee40 has no facebook... in fact the only social network he has is LinkedIn. I have no LinkedIn. They don't have each other's personal emails. And yet...

[Nixon77]

I have signed up to Facebook and Linkedin before, and been offered people I may know, and all I have put in is an email address. I don't use social media anymore, in fact I don't put anything online apart from some pictures in the cloud.

 

The other people did not have my email address.

[Lonix]

Not surprised nor shocked, you can't use a phone number without it checking your contacts on anything online any more.

 

People knew I was on twitter before I did, likewise for Facebook a long time ago.

 

So yes.. not surprised and frankly it's coming to the point where I wont use a standard email address or number for anything any more.

[tg12]

Your friend had probably already uploaded your contact details to Facebook's servers.

 

Afraid not. Neither of us have allowed Facebook access to our contacts!

[sparkeh]

If like me you are an idiot that accepts the new EULA without opting out you can still opt out via the settings on your phone. Interestingly its a one time deal, once you're out, you're out and can't opt back in.

[Arthur]

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2016/08/statement-on-changes-to-whatsapp-and-facebook-s-handling-of-personal-data/

 

WhatsApp and Facebook data sharing plan being investigated

 

The UK's Information Commissioner (ICO) is looking into WhatsApp's decision to share more data with parent company Facebook.

 

The data about WhatsApp users will be used to help targeted advertising seen by people on Facebook.

 

It will share phone numbers and the details of the last time that users signed on to WhatsApp, with Facebook.

 

The ICO said because the changes would affect a lot of people it wanted more details about what was being shared.

 

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said in a statement that users' opinions about the change was likely to be split.

 

"Some might consider it'll give them a better service, others may be concerned by the lack of control," she said.

 

"Our role is to pull back the curtain on things like this, ensuring that companies are being transparent with the public about how their personal data is being shared and protecting consumers by making sure the law is being followed."

 

While organisations did not need to get prior permission from the ICO to change how they handle personal data, any change had to remain within data protection laws, she added.

 

Any organisation that breaks the Data Protection Act can be fined up to £500,000 by the ICO.

 

^ It takes approx. 3.8 hours for Facebook to generate £500,000 in profit so even if they were fined it wouldn't make any difference to them.

[Garacesh]

A lot of people moved to a chat app called Kik when Facebook purchased WhatsApp. It's less convenient as a replacement for text messages as it doesn't scan your phone book (it can, but it asks first) and it uses user accounts, not phone numbers. I expect they'll see another surge in users after this announcement.

 

Also, if you've already accepted the new T's&C's it can still be disabled in the settings (Though facebook will have already siphoned off the valuable information)

[MatthewL]

If you go into WhatsApp, settings, account and sharing you can turn it off. This then disappears and you cannot turn it off stopping data from been shared I'm told.

[Garacesh]

Can confirm. The option in settings 'Share my information' (or similar, probably, I can't remember what it said) disappeared once I unticked the box. So apparently, even if I wanted to share my information with facebook in the future, I'm not allowed to do that.