5% Users Have Deleted WhatsApp Considering Policy Change, 22% Have Reduced Usage Drastically: Survey

WhatsApp policy change announcement has led users to delete the app and many have started using alternative apps actively even after the instant messaging app postponed its deadline to implement the new privacy policy in India from February 8th to May 15th.

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After WhatsApp's privacy policy update sparked debate among users, they have become more protective about their data and are concerned about which apps to use and what permissions to grant the apps. Many users have uninstalled the WhatApp application from their mobile phones and have migrated to other instant messaging apps even after clarification from the company which cited that it will not access or share private chats between consumers and only the chats with business accounts.

Reports citing experts suggest that Whatsapp will access information such as OS, phone model, screen resolution, IP addresses, language, location, browsing history – but, not the private conversation between users or hear their calls as it is end-to-end encrypted. Whatsapp has clearly indicated that if users don’t accept the new privacy policy, you can delete your account.

5% Indians have deleted WhatsApp after the announcement of the policy update

About 5 per cent Indians have deleted Whatsapp and another 22 per cent have reduced usage drastically after the Facebook-owned messaging giant recently revealed plans to update its privacy policy, according to a survey conducted by community platform LocalCircles.

Three weeks since WhatsApp came out with the new privacy policy, LocalCircles has conducted another survey to understand if people are actually leaving the platform and migrating.

“WhatsApp’s latest policy seems to have led a section of users, mostly aware users or early adopters, shifting to alternative instant messaging platforms, like Signal and Telegram. Signal app is highly focused on users’ privacy, while Telegram is a mix of features and has a private chat option as well,” the company said in a statement.

In the latest survey, 5 per cent of Indians said they have downloaded alternate apps and started using them actively and also deleted WhatsApp. Further breaking down the poll, 16 per cent said they have downloaded alternate apps and started using them actively while reducing Whatsapp usage. There were also 34 per cent of users who said they have downloaded alternate apps though they are not using them actively.

67% still using Whatsapp actively

The survey result indicated that 67 per cent of Indians are still actively using Whatsapp. There were also 22 per cent of citizens who said that they have reduced usage of the platform. Only 5 per cent said they have deleted it.

Over 17,000 responses were received from citizens across 232 districts of India for the survey. About 64 per cent respondents were men and 36 per cent respondents were women.

21% of Indian Whatsapp users are already using alternate apps actively

According to app analytics firm Sensor Tower, Signal recorded 26.4 million downloads from India between 4 January and 17 January, while Telegram had recorded 9.1 million downloads. There were also 5 million new downloads for WhatsApp during that period. The latest survey by LocalCircles indicated that while 55% of citizens have downloaded alternate apps, 21% of citizens are actively using it. Many users may have already had the Signal and Telegram apps on their phones before the new Whatsapp policy changes were proposed.

75% users won't use Business accounts and WhatApp Pay if the new policy is implemented

Citing WhatsApp's clarification that the data of business accounts will be shared to Facebook which would help provide relevant future suggestions to the users, the survey also asked people if they would continue using their business accounts or would make transactions via WhatsApp Pay.

In response to the question, the majority of 75% of users said “No”. Only 13% of citizens said they will not use payment but may use the business chat. Only 1% said they will use both business chat and payments. There were 7% who voted “can’t say”. In the last survey, 67% of citizens said “No”. Only 17% voted “Yes”, while 16% said they haven’t decided yet.

The LocalCircle survey showed responses from citizens, the percentage of users who are likely to not use Whatsapp Pay if the instant messaging app decides to implement the policy come May 15^th is at 92%.