The nearly 20 billion dollars spent by Facebook to buy WhatsApp they are starting to "show their true face" with a decision announced today. More precisely, those from Facebook announced that WhatsApp will automatically share phone numbers of users to the social network to display better ads and find friends on the network.
Separate from phone numbers, WhatsApp will teach at Facebook and information on how the application is used, or spam messages published. Using phone numbers taken from Whatsapp, Facebook it will analyze the existing connections between people in the two platforms and use them to display more relevant ads.
Those from Facebook say that they want to offer companies the option to contact users through WhatsApp, giving the example of a bank that would warn a customer about fraudulent transactions. Facebook has already made similar changes for Messenger, too WhatsApp he will have a share of them this year itself.
WhatsApp phone numbers reach Facebook, trampling the base of the application
The good part, at least for now, is that the users WhatsApp they will be able to control what kind of messages they receive and from whom, at least for now. Moreover, they should not see ads in the application WhatsApp, but this is only a temporary situation, because they will eventually appear there for users.
"By connecting your phone number with Facebook's systems, Facebook can provide better suggestions for friends and show more relevant ads. For example, you'll be able to see ads from a company you already work with, instead of some from someone you've never heard of."
The problem in this whole announcement lies in the fact that Facebook takes users' data without asking them or allowing them to object to this transfer. WhatsApp was highly appreciated for the fact that it does not transmit data about users to third-party services, but no one knows if in reality data was secretly transmitted to other companies.
Facebook has helped WhatsApp to grow to the point where users are dependent on the application and will not leave because they have nothing to leave. Practically, Facebook si WhatsApp they can do whatever they want now because the users will not leave anymore, or the number of those who will leave will be extremely small compared to the billion active users.
What do you think about these changes?
