alt Hacker NewsThere’s something particularly paternalistic about this statement from the PM: “Your personal messages, calls and statuses, they will remain end-to-end encrypted”.
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Every time I read such a statment I mentally add "for now" at the end.
The key in that statement is “personal”. WhatsApp already has “ads in the chat list”, aka messages from businesses that have your details. Rolled out in Asia first, and now in Europe. WhatsApp allows you to opt out of each sender. No way to opt out of all business messaging.
Messages from businesses are absolutely not private.
US TV channels are inundated with Whatsapp ads claiming the same. Not surprising considering that it's been considered the "foreigners" messaging app for a long time, and the US government is now doing its very best to make them feel completely unwelcome.
Any man who must say, "I am the King", is no true king.
Any tech company who must say, "we don't harvest your information", is a tech company that harvests your information.