Activists: WhatsApp vs. Signal
May 11, 2024•196 words
Today UK Govt. has announced that protest groups such as Just Stop Oil and Palestine Action could be banned in a similar way to other terrorist organisations.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2qv7425gvwo
If you are involved in grassroots activism you may well be in contact with representatives and activists from such organisations.
Both Signal and WhatsApp offer end-to-end encryption but WhatsApp, however, additionally collects the information from your profile; your photo, who is talking to whom, who is a group member etc. That is very powerful metadata and it is owned by Meta/Facebook which could easily be handed over to UK authorities on demand.
This is not a trivial to point as this metadata can easily be joined with Facebook data, and that it could easily reveal extremely intimate and private information.
Whilst I understand the whole world and its dog uses WhatsApp and it is an easier tool to reach friends and family but I think we all have a duty of care to others, we maybe in contact with, too.
If you are in the UK think really hard about ditching WhatsApp and using Signal instead.
More info here:-
https://www.theverge.com/23409716/signal-encryption-messaging-sms-meredith-whittaker-imessage-whatsapp-china
I am contactable via both: Check my BIO.