Stay safe out there: WhatsApp watchout

The popular communication tool makes business easier, but risks are there for those caught unaware. For all the fanfare that has followed the rise of Skype and social media platforms to fixtures in our everyday lives, we kind of take WhatsApp for granted. The VoIP communications platform, started by a couple of former Yahoo! Employees a little over a decade ago, has low-key revolutionized messaging and telephony between people by not requiring a telephone network to make calls or texts. All it requires is your telephone number and a stable internet connection, making it especially useful for tablet users, which are assigned phone numbers required for mobile network access but cannot be used to make calls in and of themselves. Thanks to WhatsApp (and the later release of WhatsApp web for use of the app in web browsers), pretty much every device is a telephone.

Keeping people more closely connected is far from the only use for WhatsApp. Indeed, it has proven to be a valuable business tool as well. In January 2018, WhatsApp released a standalone business app targeted at small business owners, called WhatsApp Business, to allow companies to communicate with customers who use the standard WhatsApp client. WhatsApp allows entrepreneurs to create business profiles, track messaging statistics, set automated answers to frequently asked questions, and find new customers.

WhatApp has changed our communicative behavior in myriad ways. Internet-based communication means a free alternative to SMS charges, so we fire off messages at will with birthday wishes and planning get-togethers. Their own brand of emojis has further perpetuated the use of image-based communication. Conversely, with its ability to organize contacts and send group messages, WhatsApp has made it easy to ignore from those in our social circles who we don’t want to hear from but are obliged to keep in contact with nonetheless. It also has its drawbacks.

As global developments in the past few years have given rise to the term “fake news”, WhatsApp has become a popular platform to spread misinformation about current events. In July 2018, lynch mobs in India murdered innocent people after malicious WhatsApp messages falsely accused the victims of intending to abduct children. Similarly, elections around the world have also been potentially swung by the spread of false information.