A few friends and I have decided to migrate from WhatsApp onto Signal messaging. I’m doing this because I don’t want to support Facebook by giving them my data including location, contracts and metadata. I don’t want their AI accessing my chat messages.
Furthermore, I have had to persuade numerous friends to make the journey with me – because otherwise, I wouldn’t have anyone to message.
The thing that struck me most is the common phrase. “If you care so much about privacy, you must have something to hide”. It’s often said as a joke. I thought that I would write something about it, just because it seems so odd to me.
For me, privacy isn’t about secrecy – it’s about control. Having the ability to decide what information you share, with whom, and in what context is seems like a key part of personal freedom. Wanting privacy doesn’t imply wrongdoing; it’s simply exercising a basic human right, much like locking your front door doesn’t mean you’re hiding illegal activities inside.
And, I think that if we were starting again, we would not be choosing WhatsApp over Signal.