The president of WhatsApp admitted that there was a failure in communication and resolved to better explain what really changes with the new policy and terms of use of WhatsApp.

The immediate reaction of a large part of WhatsApp users was the fear that Facebook would start accessing the content of the messages exchanged on the messaging app. However, according to the executive, this will not happen. With end-to-end encryption, no one, not even WhatsApp or Facebook, has access to the conversations. Therefore, with regard to personal messages, nothing changes, and the content of these remains completely secure, whether they are videos, photos, or text messages that users send to each other.

But after all, what data will be shared with Facebook?

The big news at the moment is the Business API, which starts offering hosting and management services for messages received on WhatsApp by large companies. If you send messages to a company that uses the Business API, it will store this data in some hosting service. In other words, any data shared with the companies that use the hosting service may be stored and used for profit purposes.

WhatsApp Business, an application for professional and business profiles

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From this hosting, one of the possible services is the placement of micro-targeted ads on Facebook to WhatsApp users, however, only directed to those who interact with these large companies. Precisely for this purpose, authorization becomes necessary for sharing this data with Facebook. On WhatsApp, the placement of any type of advertisement will still be prohibited.

What is the reason for including this service?

The Business API is one of WhatsApp's biggest bets to finally become profitable. Bought by Facebook in 2014, WhatsApp had not yet developed a business model capable of generating large profits for the company. However, large companies are willing to pay for the new service and become more profitable with it, which allows WhatsApp to fund the Business API and maintain the app's reliability. In parallel, small businesses will continue to use WhatsApp Business for free.

Can you then continue to trust WhatsApp?

Absolutely! WhatsApp has an impeccable privacy history, with all personal messages encrypted end-to-end. This fact can even be proven in the various legal battles that require the breaking of message secrecy on WhatsApp, yet the company guarantees the privacy of its users.

Compared to other applications, WhatsApp undoubtedly remains the safest. Telegram does not have end-to-end encryption and stores copies of exchanged messages, which is an extremely negative and harmful point to user security. Other new messaging apps, like the latest Signal, do have end-to-end encryption but lack various other important features.

In summary, the crux of the matter is that the changes in WhatsApp's privacy policy will only affect users who interact with medium and large companies that use the Business API service. From this service, these companies can store messages in some hosting service and subsequently manage the content of these messages intelligently. Meanwhile, other personal messages or those for small businesses that do not have access to the Business API remain completely protected by end-to-end encryption.