Number of Posts: 9
Posts 1 - 9
The rise and rise of international diplomacy by WhatsApp
Newspaper | The Guardian
Date | 4.11.2016
Language | English
Country | UK
Topic Tags | politics, privacy, texting, WhatsApp
Summary | WhatsApp diplomacy is a thing: when leaders gather to talk in the same room, they can exchange emojis and other documents to other people without the whole room knowing. WhatsApp is more secure than other government information systems and has been used at the UN and EU headquarters.
Image Description | Photograph of a group of diplomats looking at their phone, screenshot of a WhatsApp chat, photograph of a man holding a phone and a woman standing next to him (both are looking at the phone)
Image Tags | female(s), male(s), smartphone, text, WhatsApp
China Disrupts WhatsApp Service in Online Clampdown
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 18.7.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | censorship, Facebook, Google, Instagram, privacy, threat, Twitter, WhatsApp
Summary | The Chinese government has partly shut down the use of WhatsApp within their borders. The app is widely used around the globe and was used by some in China do communicate with people outside of Chine with end-to-end encryption. Other popular social media platforms and internet sites like Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are blocked under the "Great Firewall" in China.
Image Description | Woman using a smartphone and women standing in front of Facebook and Instagram logos as well as emojis.
Image Tags | emojis, Facebook, female(s), Instagram, logo, smartphone
As Elites Switch to Texting, Watchdogs Fear Loss of Transparency
Newspaper | The New York Times
Date | 6.7.2017
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | law, politics, privacy, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | The powerful elites are using the end-to-end-encrypted WhatsApp to communicate sensitive information. Such strategies are adopted by politicians, high-profile representatives of major companies, and Wallstreet banker. The latter are lawfully obligated to save all communications for possible inspection but WhatsApp enables them to escape that law.
Image Description | Image of a man talking on the phone and another man reading some paperwork.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone
Diese drei Anwendungen sind besser als Whatsapp
(These three apps are better than WhatsApp)
Newspaper | Welt
Date | 5.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | law, privacy, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | Brazil has just blocked WhatsApp in their country for 72 hours in order to for WhatsApp to share chats with their police in ciminal cases. It is unlikely that something like this will happen in Germany but it is good to know about some alternatives just in case... Especially since WhatsApp is not very trustworthy about user privacy. Threema is a Swiss app that alllows for user anonymity, Slack is a really good app to use with colleagues because files can be saved within group chats, and Telegram deletes inactive chats after a while so that there are no traces.
Image Description | Woman using a smartphone with headphones on the street.
Image Tags | female(s), headphones, smartphone
Das ist an Messenger-Verschwörungstheorien dran
(This is the deal with messenger conspiracy theories)
Newspaper | Welt
Date | 5.11.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, privacy, Snapchat, texting, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | A list of popular messengers is analyzed in terms of how well they protect their users' privacy. The safest one is Signal and many others have end-to-end encryption, for instance WhatsApp. They still collect the metadata though (interlocutors, time of interaction, location). Some even save the content that is sent around - most shockingly Snapchat which is popular becuase it supposedly leaves no trace. Some messengers supposedly have ties with national security ministries, like Telegram in Russia and Viber in Israel. Apple recently refused to work with the FBI in giving away a customer's personal information.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone screen with messengers and a video about messengers.
Image Tags | hand(s), logo, smartphone, WhatsApp
Experten verraten: Diese Apps müssen dringend auf Ihr Smartphone
(Experts reveal: these apps need to be on your smartphone)
Newspaper | Focus Online
Date | 5.3.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | privacy, smartphone, WhatsApp
Summary | It is difficult to avoid WhatsApp because virtually everyone is using it. The app profits from allowing you to reach everyone. There have however been privacy issues in the past. Safer options are the free app Signal (even recommended by Edward Snowden) or Threema. Other must-have apps are sophisticated password organizing apps, clean-up apps that optimize one's storage as well as good web browsers.
Image Description | Image of a boy holding a smartphone while laying on a sofa.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone
Hilfe, wo sind meine Whatsapp-Freunde hin!
(Help, where did all of my WhatsApp friends go!)
Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 26.2.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, privacy, social media, WhatsApp
Summary | After Facebook has bought WhatsApp, many users are worried about their data privacy so waves of users are switching on to safer alternatives to WhatsApp such as Telegram, MyEnigma, or the Swiss app Threema. The large majority however is staying on WhatsApp, which causes more people to stay or return to WhatsApp. When Facebook replaced older social media platforms such as the German SchülerVZ, all users moved because a social media platform is only valuable when enough people use it.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone screen with social media different icons.
Image Tags | logo, smartphone, social media
Keine Chance für WhatsApp-Konkurrenz
(No chance for WhatsApp competition)
Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 16.2.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, privacy, WhatsApp
Summary | When Facebook bought WhatsApp for $22 mio in 2014, many users feared that their data privacy would be exploited. App store sales for secure messaging apps increased, particularly the Swiss app Threema. Now, Facebook and WhatsApp still have the highest user numbers which shows that people do not seem to care very much about their data privacy in the long run. While WhatsApp did introduce end-to-end encryption, Facebook also broke their promise of never connecting WhatsApp and Facebook user data.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone screen with different icons.
Image Tags | logo, smartphone
WhatsApp Finally Adds Fully-Encrypted Video Calling Service
Newspaper | Huffington Post
Date | 15.11.2016
Language | English
Country | U.S.
Topic Tags | privacy, WhatsApp
Summary | WhatsApp announced that it will soon be possible to have end-to-end encrypted video calls. Since WhatsApp has been acquired by Facebook, they have been able to use Facebook's huge infrastucture which enabled them to include online calls and now video calls, too. Users seem very worried about government surveillance, especially now that Donald Trump has been elected. WhatsApp still keeps dossiers of their users' contact lists and other meta-data but not of the content of their messages. Initially in the WhatsApp/Facebook merger, the companies ensured users that their data of the two platforms would not be connected but their privacy policy has recently changed, breaking this promise.
Image Description | Getty image of a hand holding an iPhone with just a huge WhatsApp icon on it. A video explaining the new adjustments to WhatsApp's user privacy policy.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone
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