Is WhatsApp End-to-End Encrypted, and Does That Matter for Privacy?
WhatsApp’s changes to its privacy policy in 2021 made headlines and caused a mass migration of users away from the app. Its new explanation of terms appeared to show that it would share information with Facebook, who bought the app in February of 2014.
The Limits of End-to-End Encryption
You might be wondering why that matters if the data you send via the app is still end-to-end encrypted. Doesn’t that mean that your data is secure? Well, yes and no.
WhatsApp does still utilize end-to-end encryption, but it collects more metadata on you than apps like Signal. WhatsApp’s encryption doesn’t protect you from that kind of data collection and all that metadata now gets shared with WhatsApp’s parent company Facebook.
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What Is a Burner Phone, and When Should You Use One?
A “burner phone” is a cheap, prepaid mobile phone that you can destroy or discard when you no longer need it. In popular media, criminals often use burner phones to evade detection by authorities. You might use a burner phone for privacy reasons, as a last resort, or during an emergency.
A “burner SIM” is a related term, and refers to a cheap, prepaid SIM card that you can insert into another phone. You may plan on only using the SIM card for a limited period of time and not linking it to your real identity.
How to Convince Your Friends to Switch Messaging Apps
Feb 1, 2021, 8:00 am EDT
| 3 min read
There are plenty of great messaging apps to choose from these days. Unfortunately, the quality of a chat app isn’t the most important thing. Even the best messaging app is pointless if your friends and family don’t use it.
Many of us are stuck with two options: You can concede and use whichever messaging app most of the people you know are using, or you can try to convert everyone to your favorite app. The latter isn’t easy, but we’ll try to give you some tips.
Why SMS Text Messages Aren’t Private or Secure
You might think that switching from Facebook Messenger to old-fashioned text messages would help protect your privacy. But standard SMS text messages aren’t very private or secure. SMS is like fax an old, outdated standard that refuses to go away.
Your Cellular Carrier Can See Your SMS Messages
With SMS, messages you send are not end-to-end encrypted. Your cellular provider can see the contents of messages you send and receive. Those messages are stored on your cellular provider’s systems so, instead of a tech company like Facebook seeing your messages, your cellular provider can see your messages.