The main purpose of the App Store privacy labels is that be aware of the information that the applications we have installed use or we want to install on our iPhone. It also serves as a basis for making interesting comparisons like the one Forbes made with Signal, iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.
The importance of the confidentiality of our communications
Forbes compared Signal, iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger by looking at the App Store’s privacy labels. A picture is better than a thousand words. pic.twitter.com/VzxXwWQ8LE
– David Bernal Raspall (@ david_br8) January 4, 2021
It is clear that not all messaging apps on the market are the same. We’re not talking about whether they have an app for Apple Watch or a native Mac app, we’re talking about the privacy they apply to our most personal communications. At first glance Looks like all apps collect more or less the same data, but that’s not the case
But my chats weren’t encrypted? Yes, sure, but that doesn’t stop the companies behind these apps from collecting endless data. which are then linked to our profiles and sold. Although the content of the chat itself is encrypted, there is a lot of other important information to consider. From connection times to disconnection, the device we use, our location, our location calculated by IP address (which we cannot deactivate), our contacts, payment information, financial information, health information, etc. What we call metadata, or data data, is information that can be collected and that many companies base the monetization of their messaging platforms on.
In the present case, it is clear that the amount of information that Facebook Messenger is able to collect is totally overwhelming
Far follows iMessage, which only obtains the information necessary for operation: the address and telephone number with which we register for the service, device ID and search history in the app. And finally, we find Signal, the messaging app that upholds privacy and doesn’t collect any data. Of course, it also logs our phone number, but without linking it to us.
And as for Telegram, which does not appear in the initial comparison, it is very similar to iMessage, the only difference is that Telegram collects our contacts. pic.twitter.com/Gii6JtKTmQ
– David Bernal Raspall (@ david_br8) January 5, 2021
The image that animates the article, produced by Forbes, is undoubtedly more than graphic in the differences. Of course once the information is collected we need to go through the various privacy policies to find out what I am using does each service from our data. Facebook’s use of data is not the same as Apple’s use of data, which is limited to providing a service without selling or ever analyzing the data for any purpose.
Either way, it’s clear that choosing an app for something as personal as communicating with our family and friends goes far beyond just using the one everyone else is using or being guided by. a function or an interface. Privacy is more and more relevant and if not, mark it on the privacy labels of the App Store.