Over the past week or so we've seen a lot of chatter about people shifting their messaging platform from WhatsApp to Signal as a result of fallout from a change to its privacy policy. People were concerned that WhatsApp was going to start funneling data to its parent company Facebook.
There's been subsequent clarification, but the damage has been done.
But what data do these apps have about you? That seems like a good place to start when comparing services.
Also: Best VPNs ? Best security keys
And fortunately, Apple has made this easier for us by requiring that companies publish their privacy policies and come clean about what they do with your data.
So, let's take a look at what information this gives us on WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram. And for a bit of perspective, let's also look at Facebook.
Data linked to you - The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Identifiers
Usage Data
Purchases
Location
Contact Info
User Content
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
User Content
Purchases
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Contact Info
Identifiers
Usage Data
Data not linked to you: The following data, which may be collected but is not linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
Contact Info
Data linked to you - The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Contact Info
Contacts
Identifiers
Data used to track you - The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:
Other Data
Contact Info
Identifiers
Data linked to you - The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Purchases
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Search History
Browsing History
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Other Data
Purchases
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Search History
Browsing History
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Other Data
Analytics
Health & Fitness
Purchases
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Search History
Browsing History
Identifiers
Usage Data
Sensitive Info
Diagnostics
Other Data
Purchases
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Search History
Browsing History
Identifiers
Usage Data
Sensitive Info
Diagnostics
Other Data
Health & Fitness
Purchases
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Search History
Browsing History
Identifiers
Usage Data
Sensitive Info
Diagnostics
Other Data
Purchases
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Search History
Browsing History
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Other Data