Analysis: What the WhatsApp exodus says about trust

The backlash against the popular messaging app’s privacy policy changes won’t destabilise either WhatsApp nor parent firm Facebook, but it points to the high cost of trust when you haven’t built it – Sam Peña-Taylor.

On Saturday, the Financial Times reported that Facebook-owned WhatsApp would be delaying the privacy policy changes that had sparked outcry from users and led many to at least introduce themselves to smaller rivals able to tout their privacy credentials more compellingly. The reversal, the company says, is at least partly to “clear up the misinformation” around its privacy policies.

It is true that fears got ahead of facts, especially around sharing message content, which WhatsApp itself can’t access, let alone Facebook. But behind every widespread rumour there’s the kernel of a deeper truth.