WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta.
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Social Media |
| Official website | https://www.whatsapp.com/ |
Consumer impact summary
User Privacy
Collects and shares metadata, while rivaling apps intentionally collect less to avoid incursions on its users’ privacy.[1]
Market Control
The combination of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, all owned by Meta, serve billions of active users.[2]
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer protection incidents this company is involved in. 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 into WhatsApp world wide.[3] This directly contradicts the promises made by Facebook in 2014 after it aquired the messenger ("[…] And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication.").[4]
Privacy policy update (2021)
There was a widespread backlash over an upcoming privacy policy update, relating the data-sharing procedures with Facebook. It outlined how businesses who use WhatsApp for customer service may store logs of its chats on Facebook servers.[5] The update received a broader concern, causing millions of users to flee the platform.[6]
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 a commercial messenger.
References
- ↑ Elkind, Peter; Gillum, Jack; Silverman, Craig (7 Sep 2021). "How Facebook Undermines Privacy Protections for Its 2 Billion WhatsApp Users". ProPublica. Archived from the original on 7 Sep 2021. Retrieved 6 Mar 2025.
- ↑ Dixon, Stacy Jo (10 Jul 2024). "Most popular social networks worldwide as of April 2024, by number of monthly active users". Statista. Retrieved 6 Mar 2025.
- ↑ Scharon, Harding (2025-06-16). "Ads are "rolling out gradually" to WhatsApp". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ↑ "Facebook". WhatsApp Blog. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ↑ Statt, Nick (12 Jan 2021). "WhatsApp clarifies it's not giving all your data to Facebook after surge in Signal and Telegram users". The Verge. Archived from the original on 12 Jan 2021. Retrieved 6 Mar 2025.
- ↑ Hern, Alex (24 Jan 2021). "WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 Jan 2021. Retrieved 6 Mar 2025.