Why I don’t use WhatsApp

I deliberately don’t use WhatsApp because data protection, privacy and IT security matter to me, and I’d like to share my thoughts on this with you.

• Metadata and data sharing
  Even though messages are technically encrypted, WhatsApp still collects a lot of metadata. This includes, for example, information about which numbers communicate with each other and how often. This data can be processed within the Meta group and makes profiling possible.
  WhatsApp & data protection 2025 – risks, GDPR, metadata and alternatives

• Criticism from security experts
  A former head of security at WhatsApp accuses Meta of not adequately addressing security risks and data protection concerns and has therefore filed a lawsuit against the group.
  See reports by PC Welt and Heise

• Privacy review by Mozilla
  The Mozilla Foundation points out that although WhatsApp is widely used, it has data protection pitfalls, particularly because of data processing within the Meta ecosystem.
  Review by Mozilla

• The address book and contacts problem
  WhatsApp regularly transfers contact information from the address book. As a result, data is also processed about people who do not use WhatsApp themselves or have never consented. From a data protection point of view, this is problematic.
  Analysis of the topic: Ratgeberrecht.eu

• Summary of the criticism on Wikipedia
  An overview of points of criticism, data protection debates and proceedings by the authorities can be found here:
  Wikipedia – Criticism section

• Criticism over broken promises
  The European data protection organisation noyb also criticises how things have developed further Wikipedia – Criticism section.
  WhatsApp also uses data for advertising and is therefore part of the Meta data ecosystem, even though it originally promised not to use advertising or data linking.
  News from noyb

• New: and now with advertising too
  Beobachter article: WhatsApp is planning changes: a subscription model for around 4 francs a month is meant to guarantee an ad-free experience. Anyone who doesn’t pay will in future have to expect ads between status updates and channels. Private chats remain ad-free, but data protection concerns about the parent company Meta are prompting many users to switch.
  Read the article in the Beobachter

In brief:

• WhatsApp collects more data than just message content.
• Metadata is very revealing for profiling.
• Data protection experts and authorities have repeatedly criticised it.
• Being part of the Meta group is problematic from a data protection point of view.

Even without WhatsApp, you can easily reach me via:

• Signal
• Threema

Both messengers are considered more data-minimising and transparent.