I know What's Up. Facebook just bought the world's largest (and unlisted) mobile phone number directory:
WhatsApp's convenient 'matching by phone number' feature uploads of all of your phone contacts to their servers. Though positioned as one of the good guys, they too had their price.
With this acquisition, FB bought the ultimate data set of users and leads, and with it secured access to the last remnants of your privacy.
Your fake name/profile on FB will no longer protect you. Your friend's contact list spilled the beans months ago...
Uninstalling WhatsApp now, though I realize that after several lovely years might just be too late already.
Exactly my thoughts. Any idea how to get out of Facebook's database? I'd be willing to pay but then they have my full name instead of just a fake and my phone number.
No clue. I'm actually inclined to start a petition to stop this deal. Too much information in the hands of one company if you ask me.
Note: as a self-described Google fanboy, I do realize that Google has all this and more of me as well, but at least they provide many useful services, haven't changed the privacy rules on me, allow data export, and keep the data to themselves.
This was also my first thought. FB gets a lot of information on people's actual behavior wrt their contacts (who do you contact and how often), and this for people all over the world.
WhatsApp's convenient 'matching by phone number' feature uploads of all of your phone contacts to their servers. Though positioned as one of the good guys, they too had their price.
With this acquisition, FB bought the ultimate data set of users and leads, and with it secured access to the last remnants of your privacy.
Your fake name/profile on FB will no longer protect you. Your friend's contact list spilled the beans months ago...
Uninstalling WhatsApp now, though I realize that after several lovely years might just be too late already.
Cat, bag, out of. Such wow. Much sad.