WhatsApp

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WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta.

WhatsApp

Basic information
Founded	2009
Legal Structure	Subsidiary
Industry	Social Media, Messaging
Also known as
Official website	https://www.whatsapp.com/

Consumer impact summary

User Privacy

Collects and shares metadata, while competing apps intentionally collect less to avoid incursions on their users' privacy.

Market Control

The combination of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, all owned by Meta, serves billions of active users.

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer protection incidents in which this company is involved. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the WhatsApp category.

Introduction of advertising (2025)

In June 2025, Meta announced that personalized ads would be introduced globally on WhatsApp. Previously, Meta (then known as Facebook) stated in 2014, after it acquired the application:

("[…] And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication.").

The personalized ads also utilize data from linked accounts on other Meta platforms.

Privacy policy update (2021)

Main article: WhatsApp updates privacy policy and millions of users flee the platform

There was widespread backlash over an upcoming privacy policy update related to the data-sharing procedures with Facebook. It outlined how businesses that use WhatsApp for customer service may store logs of their chats on Facebook servers. The update sparked a broader concern, prompting millions of users to abandon the platform.

"Advanced chat privacy"

The "Advanced Chat Privacy" feature reduces data portability by disabling chat exporting. Chat exporting allows you to export the entire chat history, along with optional media attachments, into a ZIP file. This can now be remotely disabled by the other participant, meaning the user is at the mercy of the other participant to allow exporting.

There are legitimate reasons for exporting chats, such as creating backups in a human-readable and non-proprietary format, preempting erroneous account terminations (yes, they do happen), searching using external tools, and preserving good memories with people, including those of deceased individuals (see Ed Sheeran - Old Phone). And if you don't trust someone to keep something secret, you shouldn't send it in the first place, just as you would not tell them in real life.

The developers of WhatsApp have threatened to block screenshots inside chats with "advanced chat privacy" enabled:

The company has stated that this is the first iteration of the feature, with plans to introduce even more robust protections in future updates, potentially including measures to block screenshots.

Mandatory updates

WhatsApp forces users to stay on updated versions of the app by first giving them an in-app warning if they have not updated for a while. If the user still chooses not to update, usage of the app will be disabled entirely ^{[citation needed - how long before this happens? any screenshots?]}. This is problematic in certain cases, such as being in an area with poor or limited internet connectivity or using an older device that is no longer supported.

Alternatives

• Signal offers most of the same features, and while not without some issues, the app is open source, relies on Privacy by Design, and is operated by a non-profit.

• Matrix is more private and uses a federated design, but setup is slightly more involved than that of a commercial messenger.

• Telegram is the most popular alternative and is end-user-friendly, with minimal content moderation. Prior to a September 2024 policy change, it refused to hand over user data to law enforcement upon request.