JAKARTA - Recently, WhatsApp users began to switch to other messaging applications such as Signal and Telegram. The reason is that WhatsApp issued a new policy to submit user data to Facebook if you still want to use the application.
According to Sputnik News, the WhatsApp messaging app has seen a significant drop in downloads since the beginning of 2021 after they implemented controversial new terms.
Data analysis institute Sensor Tower said that the Google Play Store and Apple App Store app stores had revealed about 2.2 million downloads of Telegram and more than 100,000 downloads of Signal in two days. Meanwhile, WhatsApp application downloads fell 11 percent in the first week of early January.
Last week, WhatsApp introduced a new requirement that requires users to share data with parent company Facebook. This data sharing includes phone number and location, which will take effect from February 8.
Arthur Goldstuck, as CEO of World Wide Worx, said that he believes WhatsApp aims to present advertisements to users by referring to WhatsApp data. This has actually been done by Facebook, Google, and other technology companies.
"I believe the intention is for WhatsApp to also become an advertising medium," Goldstuck said. "We shouldn't be surprised in the future when we have to accept new terms and conditions that say [WhatsApp] will display ads relevant to user interests."
However, the move goes against the vision of WhatsApp founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum. Acton left the company in 2017 and later founded a new messaging app, Signal, on January 10, 2018. After that, Koum left the WhatsApp board in 2018.
Telegram, which has operations in Dubai, was founded by two Russian brothers and an American. They are Nikolai and Pavel Durov, and Axel Neff. Telegram offers functionality that is superior to its competitor, WhatsApp.
Telegram and Signal advantages
When WhatsApp imposed a group member limit of up to 256 users, Telegram could accommodate up to 200,000 users in one group. Meanwhile, Signal can accommodate as many as 1,000 members.
Not only that, Telegram also has a "Channel" which allows one-way communication between the company and its customers. Telegram also allows group admins to remove spam or material that offends sensitive matters.
Actually, each application has its own characteristics. For sending files, WhatsApp can only support files up to 100 MB, while Telegram can reach a larger size of 1.5 GB. The three applications provide chat and video calling services.
Uniquely, the Signal application has quite an interesting feature, namely Note to Self. This feature allows users to load notes for their own purposes. So, users can review messages that will be sent to other users, it can also just be used as a regular note.
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