Many social media users are in a hurry to download alternate applications, after WhatsApp announced a possible change in their user privacy policy, as from February 2021.
The year 2021 began with a surprising news for social media users. That of the new terms and policy of the social media Whatsapp. Indeed, some rumors and equally reports from other media state that by February 8th 2021, these new conditions will be applied.
These terms include: the sharing of personal data with other social media such as Instagram, Facebook owned by Mark Zuckerburg. Not accepting these terms will delete a whatsapp account.
This information made many social media users to question themselves on the nature of these conditions, the reason for this new policy or if they should accept or not.
Concerning Cameroonians, many of them are biased on the decisions to take or which solution to use. As for Hans Bidzanga recently graduant from the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Ngoa Ekelle, he sees this information as a mundane one.
He considers that whatsapp has just said officially what they were usually doing unofficially. “If you are nobody in the society that has basic conversations with people everyday on whatsapp, I don’t think you should even care about these terms” he says.
Nevertheless, for Angela MBARGA ex student at the National Advanced School of Engineering she considers this new policy as a violation of personal life. “I will never accept their new terms”, she testifies.
Appart from them, majority of Cameroonians now use the social media known as “signal” and “Telegram”
Signal is an app created in 2018 by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton. It as a messenger software that permits to send and receive messages with photos and videos. There is no particular difference between this app and that of whatsapp just the option “status update” not found in the app Signal. The same situation is found in the app telegram created in 2013 by Pavel Durov.
Due to this news, majority of the Cameroonian population switched to these apps. “It is not that good like whatsapp but if they respect our privacy then I’m okay with it” says Reine NITCHEU student.
They all hope to find an alternative app to replace whatsapp, meanwhile the whole population impatiently wait for the 8th February 2020.
By Mercedes BIBOUM
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