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Dont install telegram! Danger-Read this! About whatsapp, etc



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amother
OP


 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 8:15 am
This information is very scary. So many people have already installed telegram!
Read this article from YWN about 1) Signal's privacy policy is basically the same as whatsapps, so no gain. 2)whatsapp isnt actually sharing the private information people are panicking over 3) Telegram is a dangerous, public platform, that can open access to drugs, filth etc! Beware of telegram!


https://www.theyeshivaworld.co......html

With WhatsApp’s new “terms and conditions” many WhatsApp users understandably assumed that this meant WhatsApp had finally crossed a line, requiring data-sharing with no alternative. But in truth, the company says that the privacy policy deletion simply reflects how WhatsApp has shared data with Facebook since 2016 for the vast majority of its now 2 billion-plus users.

However, we need to keep in mind that none of this has, at any point, impacted one of WhatsApp’s prime features: end-to-end encryption. Messages, photos, and other content you send and receive on WhatsApp can only be viewed on your smartphone and the devices of the people you choose to message with. WhatsApp and Facebook itself cannot access your communications. In fact, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly affirmed his commitment to expanding end-to-end encryption offerings as part of tying the company’s different communication platforms together. This privacy feature doesn’t mean there isn’t still a trove of other data WhatsApp can collect and share about you and how you utilize their platform. The company states that it collects user information “to operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services.”

So what do all those terms mean? Is it time to panic? Should we be switching to other apps like Telegram and Signal?


The short answer is no. The long answer is also no. If you read the terms and conditions for the app Signal, you’ll notice that it’s extremely similar to WhatsApp’s. Is it worth it to switch? Probably not. As for Telegram, there’s an extreme danger that the frum world isn’t taking into account.

I currently co-host a podcast called ‘Meaningful People‘ with my friend, Nachi Gordon. We sit down each week with the frum communities’ most influential people and talk to them about their lives. A year ago, I was doing research online and discovered that Telegram is home to many “groups” that act as great sources of information. Not knowing much about the app, I downloaded it hoping to discover said ‘groups’ dedicated to podcasting and interviewing. Instead, I was horrified. While Telegram may seem like a similar platform to WhatsApp, it is also “open to the public”. This means, almost anyone can search for and join groups dealing with illegal drugs, “filth”, and other dark web media. What makes it so dangerous is that it’s so easy to accidentally stumble into these groups or “people nearby your area” (a feature that allows you to connect with any telegram user nearby). On our episode with Rabbi Yaakov Bender, Rosh HaYeshiva of Darchei Torah, (back in early 2020) he even mentioned the dangers of Telegram’s ability to send extremely large uncensored files.

Many people have been ditching WhatsApp and switching over to Telegram without recognizing the potential danger involved.

So what should you do?

There are really only two options:
1) Stick with WhatsApp and continue to let them tap into the data that you’ve basically already been allowing them access to for the past four years.
Or
2) Completely boycott Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsft, and all social media platforms. Big tech uses your data to understand you better. Contrary to popular conspiracy theories, there likely isn’t some nefarious scheme to read all your texts, download all your photos, and ultimately clone your brain for the next generation of AI bionic beings.

One thing is certain. Hashem has more data on you than you can imagine.


Yaakov Langer is a digital marketer, co-founder and co-host of Meaningful People Podcast and co-founder of @YidWithSign.
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amother
Mint


 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 8:36 am
What you shared above is an opinion peice, just like what any one of us posts here on imamother. Also, it is not accurate.

There is a huge difference between Signal (non profit) & WhatsApp( for profit). Has been for many years. Signal does not store any of your texts and images etc. nor do they use them for ad & "educational" targeting. Nor do they mine your shopify purchases to share your info between all platforms and 3rd parties. If the law showed up at Signal, Signal would not have any data to help them with in any way. Facebook cooperates with politics and social "management".

Telegram will not expose you to anything. It works the same way as whatsapp. The brothers had to flee their country for asylum because they refused to cooperate with government to control politics with their app. It only exposes you to the people in your contacts and the message groups you choose to join.

For some this is in protest of entertainment getting involved in politics, for some FB has just taken things too far/ has become too powerful and people are voting to take down a monopoly with their "feet" or "dollars" ( something the us govt is supposed to do but has not lately done, the law is monopolies may not exsist & must be broken down into smaller entities). For some who do not use the rest of social media, WhatsApp has become less kosher. For some who do use the rest of social media they are just annoyed with what they type into WhatsApp prompting targeted questioning pop-ups and advertisements when to go to the other platforms . And then there are those like me who are just by nature private and have been using it for years already because their privacy policy is just that, more private.

Also, the legal text is written very loosely and too general, where they *can* mean innocent stuff but they would not be breaking any agreements with you if they used it nefariously.
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amother
Olive


 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 10:21 am
I wish you would publish this with YWN. It's really frustrating to see how defeatist everyone has become.

I also find it insulting when people say if the government/shin bet/ whatever wants to find you they will. I'm not worries about the govt finding me. I'm worried that any company with a few million dollars can buy this information. And that's what Facebook is saying. They're saying we paid 21 billion dollars for this product and it's time for it to start earning it's keep. And you're our product. So start following our rules #$@$.
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FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 10:42 am
amother [ Olive ] wrote:
I wish you would publish this with YWN. It's really frustrating to see how defeatist everyone has become.

I also find it insulting when people say if the government/shin bet/ whatever wants to find you they will. I'm not worries about the govt finding me. I'm worried that any company with a few million dollars can buy this information. And that's what Facebook is saying. They're saying we paid 21 billion dollars for this product and it's time for it to start earning it's keep. And you're our product. So start following our rules #$@$.


Why does that worry you? What do you think is going to happen?
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cbsp




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 12:38 pm
amother [ Mint ] wrote:
What you shared above is an opinion peice, just like what any one of us posts here on imamother. Also, it is not accurate.
<Snip>

Telegram will not expose you to anything. It works the same way as whatsapp. <snip> It only exposes you to the people in your contacts and the message groups you choose to join.



So in your opinion this representation of telegram is inaccurate?

Quote:

While Telegram may seem like a similar platform to WhatsApp, it is also “open to the public”. This means, almost anyone can search for and join groups dealing with illegal drugs, “filth”, and other dark web media. What makes it so dangerous is that it’s so easy to accidentally stumble into these groups or “people nearby your area” (a feature that allows you to connect with any telegram user nearby).



I know there is at least one client app to restrict how open telegram is. Why do you say it's the same as whatsapp?
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amother
Mint


 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 1:03 pm
cbsp wrote:
I know there is at least one client app to restrict how open telegram is. Why do you say it's the same as whatsapp?


I did not choose telegram. For adults with self control everywhere else its the same. I would not for children. Signal is the more secure & fully kosher app. but more private.
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BadTichelDay




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 1:25 pm
Maybe I'm naive but what is so new and terrible about whatsapp selling user data? I mean, what is going to happen as a result of it? I'll get more targeted advertising every time I go on the internet? Shrug - that's happening anyway, isn't it? Even Google on my phone all the time suggests sites that "it" thinks I find interesting and most of the time it gets it right. At first I was creeped out by that but now I find it actually useful. Every time one uses one's credit card, the credit card company collects data. Every time one uses waze to navigate the data gets collected somewhere. Every time your phone is switched on, your gps provides data about where you are and where you go to. Who collects all that - who knows? The list is endless. Is it a good thing? Not entirely. The thought of what a totalitarian system could do with all this is frightening. Think China. But the only way out is to go off the internet entirely, have a dumb phone and pay cash only. Not very practical for most people.
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little neshamala




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 2:42 pm
BadTichelDay wrote:
Maybe I'm naive but what is so new and terrible about whatsapp selling user data? I mean, what is going to happen as a result of it? I'll get more targeted advertising every time I go on the internet? Shrug - that's happening anyway, isn't it? Even Google on my phone all the time suggests sites that "it" thinks I find interesting and most of the time it gets it right. At first I was creeped out by that but now I find it actually useful. Every time one uses one's credit card, the credit card company collects data. Every time one uses waze to navigate the data gets collected somewhere. Every time your phone is switched on, your gps provides data about where you are and where you go to. Who collects all that - who knows? The list is endless. Is it a good thing? Not entirely. The thought of what a totalitarian system could do with all this is frightening. Think China. But the only way out is to go off the internet entirely, have a dumb phone and pay cash only. Not very practical for most people.


Yup.
I couldnt care less about what whatsapp is sharing-I think because I understand it to mean the technical details, and not the phone conversation content.
I think a lot of the people panicking and leaving whatsapp did not understand that whatsap will not be sharing personal data. They think their whatsapps will be shared...which is not the case
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jan 11 2021, 3:31 pm
little neshamala wrote:
Yup.
I couldnt care less about what whatsapp is sharing-I think because I understand it to mean the technical details, and not the phone conversation content.
I think a lot of the people panicking and leaving whatsapp did not understand that whatsap will not be sharing personal data. They think their whatsapps will be shared...which is not the case

I am wary of any company sharing any personal info about me. I know some of it is unavoidable, but I don't have to make it easy for them.

And perhaps they will go the way of FB/Twitter and start banning people from Whatsapp whose views differ from their own? For "safety" of course...
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