Well, hello there Don Draper

The AI centipede era has begun

What about images sent from Japan? Aren’t they all pixelated by default? /s

Thanks for explaining. It’s interesting and outside metadata there could be a case for data being secure. However, this is the same company that lied and got fined in the EU when they asserted that they wouldn’t be able to link WhatsApp and Facebook identities. This allowed the merger to happen. Security and privacy being something that the average Joe doesn’t care that much, it wouldn’t be too much of a negative impact when they already have so much bad press on other matters. Finally, from an ethical perspective, I’ll give this corp a miss. Values don’t really align with my personal ones even if privacy and security were beyond reproach.

Thanks. Haven’t used them in like a decade so things seem to have changed. At the time, new phone meant your messages transferred automatically.

At the same time, even if Facebook requires a backup for the messages to show up, as the app is close sourced, how would one know for sure whether the app doesn’t harvest the private key anyway?

Thanks. I stand corrected. I was one of those that paid $1 for life when WhatsApp was a new kid on there block but haven’t used it since news broke that Facebook acquired them like a decade ago. At the time, you had a new phone, your messages would transfer. Dunno how it is today after all those years but seems to be similar to Signal.

Based on the stories coming up on Facebook and their lack of moral / humane boundaries I still won’t trust them not to have access to a private key when their app is so invasive. Their whole model is based on behind the curtain trafficking.

WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted. How does all the data magically show up when you change phone which doesn’t have the same private key as the old phone? It’s like having a lock on your front door and giving the keys to a random neighbour. Most folks trade convenience for privacy or security. That trade is looking less and less appealing by the day.