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After strong criticism of the “WhatsApp” application after having imposed a new “privacy policy” on its users last January, the controversy returns to the same subject after a new report revealed that the administrators of the application are able to read our messages.
A “ProPublica” report warned of the actual presence of so-called “administrators” within the “WhatsApp” team who could pass certain data (metadata) to law enforcement authorities, noting that the company shared the data of a number of users. for a long time.
The aforementioned report also considered that it could create a lot of confusion as to what Facebook, the operator of the app, means when it says “end-to-end encryption”, which by definition means that only the recipient and the sender have numeric codes that allow the message to be read, according to the “Gizmodo” site.
A moderator to review the content
He also added that at least 1,000 moderators hired by Accenture, which contracts with Facebook moderators, review user-reported content and reported by its machine learning system.
They monitor spam, disinformation, hate speech, potential terrorist threats, child pornography and extortion, among others.
WhatsApp application
Depending on the content, administrators can block the account, put the user “on watch” or leave them alone (this is different from Facebook or Instagram, which also allow moderators to delete individual posts).
View the last 5 posts
In contrast, the report noted that while many may agree that violent images and child sexual abuse material should be monitored and reported, the app’s AI software also sends moderators a lot of messages. harmless, and once the flagged content reaches them, they can view the last five posts of the sent thread.
It is reported that the WhatsApp application has disclosed in its terms of service that when a particular account is flagged, it “receives the latest messages” from the reported user or group as well as “information about your recent interactions with the reported user “.
Watsab (Avestak)
However, it does not indicate whether this information that administrators can see includes phone numbers, profile photos, associated Facebook and Instagram accounts, a user’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, or user ID. mobile phone.
Additionally, the report clarified that WhatsApp does not disclose that it can collect user credentials regardless of their privacy settings.
unclear details
In addition, the application did not provide much detail on the mechanism it uses to receive decrypted messages, except that the person who clicks the “Report” button automatically creates a new message between him. and WhatsApp. This seems to indicate that WhatsApp is using some sort of copy and paste function, but the details are still unclear.
It should be noted that “Facebook” had announced, according to what was reported by the “Gizmodo” website, that “WhatsApp” can read the messages as it is considered to be a copy of the direct messaging between the company and the journalist.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
He also added that users who report content make a conscious choice to share information with Facebook based on their own opinion, so that Facebook’s collection of such material does not conflict with end-to-end encryption. So, WhatsApp can see your messages without your consent.
It comes, despite Facebook raising its privacy banner on WhatsApp, pointing out that it cannot spy on it.
Mark Zuckerberg also unequivocally pointed out, during a Senate hearing in 2018, that his company cannot see any content on WhatsApp because it is fully encrypted.
But when a user opens the app today, they see a text about the terms of service and privacy policy, with the following text: “We cannot read or listen to your personal conversations because they are encrypted between the parties. “
However, this advice appears in some cases, a dead letter!
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