[netcan]

Thank you. That's exactly the point I was trying to make.

The reality is nuanced and the 'free app, you are the product' only overlaps with it only occasionally. (a) Showing you ads isn't the most worrying type of data collection (b) Not showing you ads or charging for something doesn't mean data is not being collected about you in a worrying way.

Whatsapp's business model was neither selling ads or selling apps. It was sell Whatsapp. The "product" was the company, especially the data and the employees (If you're getting paid in stock, you are the product!). If that hadn't worked out they may have gone to plan B or plan C, but IMO that just makes the point that the data is in their hands and their business model can change. They might go into liquidation and have the data auctioned.

If Whatsapp is indeed worth all that money it's worth it for the data it has and can collect. That makes me uneasy.