WhatsApp battles privacy concerns in India – its biggest market
Al JazeeraThough WhatsApp has yet to see mass uninstalls of its app in India, users concerned about privacy are increasingly downloading rival apps. Though WhatsApp has yet to see mass uninstalls of its app in India, users concerned about privacy are increasingly downloading rival apps such as Signal and Telegram, research firms say, propelling them higher on the download charts and putting those apps ahead of their ubiquitous rival in India for the first time. While WhatsApp’s payment service, approved by India’s flagship payments processor late last year after two years of waiting, does not fall under the privacy policy update, any sizeable user shift to other messengers could mean losing out to well-entrenched rivals. Signal downloads jump Even as WhatsApp sought to calm fears and assure users that neither it nor Facebook would have access to their messages, calls, or call logs, the privacy policy update triggered a storm globally with Signal downloads swelling as people looked for alternative messengers.