You are an ID10T: Your data is protected!

I find this topic quite fascinating. When Facebook (now Meta) acquired WhatsApp, the company made several assurances that user data would never be shared with Facebook.

Fast forward a few years, and WhatsApp user data began being shared with Facebook. The option to disable this sharing was buried deep in the settings, and at no point was there a clear opportunity to opt in. The data sharing was automatically enabled by default.

There are been multiple cases over the years of Facebook being caught sharing Anonymised user data with 3rd parties. Only to find out later that the Anonymised data can be used to identify and track the user. Then there were the cases of Facebook changing users privacy settings to public without notifying them. And when they logged into the website they were greeted with a “We changed your privacy settings to make your life easier” message. I myself was a victim of this.

Now, in the present day, Meta (the parent company of WhatsApp) has been accused of covertly tracking Android users via Instagram and Facebook (Sky News, 4 June 2025).

Meanwhile, WhatsApp continues to run prominent UK advertising campaigns promoting its commitment to privacy, emphasizing that “no one can see your messages.”

This raises a significant question: if privacy is such a priority? Why are they tracking users? Why is Meta’s AI being automatically introduced to all WhatsApp users? Despite being labelled as “optional,” what kind of access does this AI really have to user messages and data? (WhatsApp FAQ, 8 June 2025).

And the more important question. Can anything that they say be trusted?

WhatsApp, YOU are an ID10T!