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Whatsapp Messenger wants to be like Chinese Wechat. Whatsapp users should be able to purchase and pay via the app in the future. But what about data protection? An expert expressed his concerns.
October 2020: Facebook, the operator of Whatsapp, is planning a complete update. In the future, users should also be able to shop through Messenger. Experts are concerned about data protection.
REUTERS
Here’s what the new shopping interface should look like within the app. Whatsapp ensures that users want to continue protecting private conversations in the best possible way.
August 31, 2020: A new feature has appeared in a pre-release version of Whatsapp. This should make it easier to manage the storage space on your phone. Voice messages, photos and videos that take up a lot of space can now be managed in a central location within the app. It is not yet clear when the new feature will be introduced for everyone.
KEYSTONE
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Shopping is becoming a central part of Whatsapp.
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Users should be able to purchase via the messenger.
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The “radical” update worries some experts.
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Whatsapp calms down and explains how to proceed.
Do you buy via Whatsapp? This should soon become a reality. The hand-sewn fabric mask from the Internet or the birthday cake for mom from the pastry shop next door – in the future, Whatsapp users should be able to order and pay for all this and more via Messenger. Whatsapp has over two billion users, so this should become a profitable business for Facebook, the app operator. Because in the future, corporate customers will be asked to checkout, as a blog post reads.
Whatsapp CEO Matt Idema says the crown pandemic has made it clear that businesses need fast and efficient ways to serve customers and make sales. “Whatsapp has become a simple and convenient resource during this time.” Now it is important to expand the service. It had long been evident that Whatsapp would become a commercial platform. Because Facebook spent about $ 19 billion on the app in 2014.
Wechat as a role model
Chinese Wechat may have served as a model for the big Whatsapp update. The app isn’t very well known in Germany, but it’s overwhelming in Asia. Book an appointment at the hairdresser or buy a 3800 euro Dior bag? No problem with Wechat. Fast payment via Wechat in small shops? No problem. Wechat’s comprehensive offering is probably one of the reasons users in China spend a third of their time online with the app.
Whatsapp is popular, but the Facebook app is unlikely to have reached such a high level of use as Wechat. But the potential was recognized. The fact that users will be able to shop via Whatsapp in the future has been criticized by some. “Radical Update Confirmed: Has Facebook Broken Whatsapp?” is the title of the American business magazine “Forbes”. Author and cybersecurity expert Zak Doffman believes that Instagram, Facebook and, in the future, Whatsapp services will come even closer and that user privacy could be affected.
“Search for alternatives”
Facebook says it knows that most users will continue to use WhatsApp only to communicate with friends and family. “This is why we will continue to develop exciting new features for this area and protect our users’ private conversations in the best possible way at all times,” he says.
The planned shopping upgrade is probably not a cause for concern for most users, but for those who want a clean user interface and downloaded platform, this will be a problem, writes Forbes. So now is the time to look for alternatives to WhatsApp, experts say. For example, the Signal and Threema apps are recommended.
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