WhatsApp user churn takes a toll on Facebook's image
WhatsApp user churn takes a ...
Subscribe to Newsletter

WhatsApp user churn takes a toll on Facebook's image

20 January 2021
2946
2 min.
8
WhatsApp user churn takes a toll on Facebook's image

Facebook's image

Facebook got another scandal when it tried to impose new data privacy rules on WhatsApp chat room users. Although Facebook's target was only data about WhatsApp users communications with commercial firms, not personal communication, the chat room was abruptly abandoned by a huge number of users.

Facebook faced new challenges in 2021, on top of ongoing antitrust investigations by US and European authorities over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

The first challenge was the use of Facebook platforms by Donald Trump supporters involved in the storming of the Capitol, which ended in the deaths of five people. Facebook and Twitter blocked the US president's account, causing serious public controversy.

Another crisis occurred on WhatsApp, when the announcement of new data privacy rules was followed by a sharp exodus of its users to other platforms. In early January, WhatsApp users received an alert about the new rules, acceptance of which was followed by consent to share some personal data with Facebook. If they refuse to accept the terms by 8 February, such users' account will be blocked.

According to WhatsApp, the new rules were misinterpreted as they dealt solely with users communication data with commercial firms and did not affect personal conversations, which would still be end-to-end encrypted.

As a result, WhatsApp had to scrap the innovation last week, setting a new launch date for the business tools of 15 May.

Facebook shares, up 13.3% over the past 12 months, are down 9.3% since the start of 2021.

According to analyst firms, WhatsApp has lost a significant portion of its audience to rival apps such as Signal and Telegram. Signal, often used in journalistic circles, was the most downloaded free app on Apple and Android devices. In the week from January 4, the number of downloads of the Signal app reached 8.8 million an increase of almost 4,000% compared to the week before.

Last week, in an effort to stem the churn of WhatsApp users in India, the largest market in terms of active monthly users (more than 450 million), the company placed full-page articles in several Indian newspapers with the headline "WhatsApp respects and protects your privacy".

Persons1 and Companies7 in the news

45th President of the United States
1 place
Signal
1 place
Telegram
2 place
WhatsApp
3 place
X (Twitter)
4 place
Instagram
5 place
Meta (Facebook)
6 place
Apple
7 place
Section:
Rating companies
Instagram
17 Mention
Netflix
17 Mention
X (Twitter)
11 Mention
Amazon
8 Mention
TikTok
8 Mention
Tesla
8 Mention
White House
7 Mention

NEW YORK NEWS

News from GlobalNY.biz is the freshest and most relevant information about high-profile events in the region. The task of the resource's news feed is to convey to readers with maximum accuracy and objectivity information about important events in business, politics, economy, healthcare, culture and other spheres of life in New York.
GlobalNY.biz news is a coverage of economic processes taking place in New York, the latest news of public life, incidents and an overview of political events. New York news is information about the activities of small and medium-sized businesses, the work of housing and communal services and utilities, the implementation of significant projects.
The site's journalists describe not only the life of the region, but also talk about the current state of the US economy. Everything you need to know about innovations in the field of industry and agriculture, economy and power is collected in the "News" section at GlobalNY.biz.
New York news quickly informs the reader, shows the real picture and opens up hot topics. Communication with government structures and business enables us to provide our readers with reliable, information-rich material. The main page of the portal contains the key news of New York!
Alena Potapova

Development Director
Population
8166235738
Died this year
50963452
Born this year
125379112