We’re starting to see a heightened sense of concern about WhatsApp these days, probably prompted, in part, by the fact that Facebook bought WhatsApp a year ago and partly because WhatsApp is changing its Privacy Policy on February 8th. All users will be asked to sign a statement agreeing with the new policy (or else lose all communication privileges with the app). Reading their new Privacy Policy at https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/security-and-privacy/answering-your-questions-about-whatsapps-privacy-policy doesn’t seem TOO scary. They say they still won’t read your message or store your numbers. But still, personally, I (Doug) have never felt comfortable letting them see my phone’s contact list, simply because I haven’t asked permission from the 4000 people in my phone if I can do so. So WhatsApp is a super hassle for me. I’ve got lots of chats – and not identifying information with them. It’s like playing Clue to figure out who’s messaging me each time I receive a new piece of communication. But that’s just the way I’ve been managing it so far. Tech Radar seems to imply that, once we’ve signed the new policy on Feb. 8th, things could grow far less secure. https://www.techradar.com/news/whatsapps-new-privacy-policy-requires-you-to-share-data-with-facebook. So we should probably ask: What’s YOUR take on WhatsApp — and how will YOUR org handle it? One approach: You could simply warn members about the switch. But keep in mind, if they’ve given WhatsApp permission to see their phone’s contact list, all it might take is one single user in your org to expose EVERYone. So – please tell us – what’s your take on the February 8th privacy policy shift?

Thanks in advance for your input. (Just clik “Read more” and click comment.)