| > Every time an article about Whatsapp on HN or Reddit pops up I fearfully look to see if there are legitimate privacy concerns. There are legitimate privacy concerns. The main concern here is that Facebook builds up a network of who you are in contact with, how often you message them, when you message them, etc. You are either not aware of this or you don't mind, but calling it illegitimate is not a fair assessment of the risk. What if this data is leaked, hacked or sold or Facebook is pressured to release it to certain governments and they use this data to find dissidents? This data, in combination with other Facebook data, could also be used by advertisers to target people specifically with questionable offers and materials, etc. People might object to their data being sold this way. What if the US regime changes to a dictatorship, I know, it might seem very far fetched that some insane barbarian becomes president, but bear with me. Facebook might be forced to reveal said information and the regime will then use this to find dissidents. What you should be asking yourself is 'Why is this app, that costs millions to make and maintain, that was bought for billions, free for me?' There is someone out there making a profit. This might not be a big concern to you personally, but it is not an illegitimate concern. |