Facebook-owned WhatsApp has claimed a lot about privacy. Even the billboard ads it put across cities talk about how the app offers end-to-end encryption. So, no one else other than the sender and receiver can read messages. It even shows the same assurance on the chat window.
Recently, the company also started a brand marketing campaign ‘Message Privately’ in India. The company launched two videos under the campaign and videos talk about Privacy and “Message privately.” These videos want users to understand that WhatsApp is a safe place to share their most personal moments.
But an investigation by ProPublica found something opposed to all the claims made by WhatsApp and its parent company. Our WhatsApp messages are not as private as are being advertised. WhatsApp employees can still read unencrypted chats.
Facebook reportedly pays teams of contractors around the world to read WhatsApp messages and moderate the content. There are more than 1,000 contract workers based in Austin, Texas, Dublin, and Singapore. These workers examine millions of pieces of WhatsApp users’ content.
These contract workers basically check the content that WhatsApp users report or WhatsApp’s own algorithms flag. Messages, that are reported or flagged by algorithm, are sent to WhatsApp’s moderation contractors unencrypted.
WhatsApp’s FAQ also notes, “WhatsApp receives the most recent messages sent to you by the reported user or group.”
After a user reports a message on WhatsApp, the system forwards the reported message along with the four previous ones in the exchange, including any images or videos to WhatsApp in unencrypted form. This data is sent to contract workers to assess and see if the message really falls under the abuse category.
That means the end-to-end encryption is just for showing a label in chat. The company can read any message it wants. Even if the company claims it does for minimizing abuse, there’s a way to bypass end-to-end encryption for WhatsApp employees.
The report also claims that WhatsApp once helped prosecutors in making a strong case against a Treasury Department employee who leaked confidential documents to BuzzFeed News.
So, if you think your WhatsApp messages are really private, you are wrong. The company can read any of your messages if it wants. When it comes to Facebook and its apps, privacy is a myth.
