Following the announcement of WhatsApp wanting to update its privacy policy, about 5% respondents in a survey said they have deleted the Facebook-owned application, while 22% said they have reduced its usage, according to a survey by LocalCircles.
“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.
It added that in its latest survey, 5% Indians said they have downloaded alternative apps and started using them actively and also deleted WhatsApp, while 16% said they have downloaded alternate apps and started using them actively while reducing Whatsapp usage. About 34% of users who said they have downloaded alternative apps though not using them actively and still using Whatsapp.
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“On the other hand, 15% said they are still using Whatsapp and 6% said they have reduced its usage but they have not downloaded alternate apps. As much as 18% of Whatsapp users said they plan to continue using WhatsApp the same as before, while 6% said they can’t say,” it added.
LocalCircles added that the survey result indicates that 67% of Indians are still actively using Whatsapp. However, 22% of citizens have reduced usage of WhatsApp while 5% have deleted it.