Decrypting WhatsApp’s Secrets - Episode 11
WhatsApp’s initial dream of safe, encrypted, ad-free private messaging is far from intact…
In 2009, WhatsApp’s creators Brian Acton and Jan Koum shared a passion for creating a free, global instant messaging app without the nuances that plague its current, Meta-owned definition of ‘encryption’.
Needless to say that Acton & Koum have started their own ventures since WhatsApp’s takeover. So what changed? What’s keeping users on the app in spite of its public misgivings, and what might the future hold for the platform? Learn the illuminating history behind WhatsApp on this episode of Disconnected.
This episode of Disconnected covers:
The moral compass that guided WhatsApp’s original owners
How the monetisation model evolved with Facebook’s takeover of WhatsApp
The power of ‘network effect’, and why it keeps us on the platform
What Facebook/Meta have planned for the future of the app
Episode Highlights:
“Brian Acton applied to work as an engineer at Facebook. He was rejected in August, and tweeted about moving on. Months later, Brian and Jan Koum had a smartphone app idea of their own. It was initially designed to be an app for people to easily update their status, but once they added the private messaging feature, the app really started to gain popularity.” - 0:55 - Jag Sharma
“The $1 donation request worked really well. It didn’t alienate the user base, and enough people paid the fee to give enough money for WhatsApp to continue to run. But this $1 fee mainly just kept the lights on, with a small amount leftover to help them remain steady.” - 4:25 - Jag Sharma
“WhatsApp’s revenue strategy was to invest in making the app the best it can be. This in turn will keep users and attract new ones, and then will attract more investors. WhatsApp’s value in the eyes of investors came from ‘network effect’; The more people that have the app, the better it is for all other users. ” - 5:40 - Jag Sharma
“Zuckerberg bought WhatsApp as he saw a lot of synergies between WhatsApp & Facebook, and this worried people. Facebook’s track record for respecting privacy has been brought into question many times, and with scandals like Cambridge Analytica in 2017, this made trusting WhatsApp in the hands of Facebook worrisome for many.” - 8:35 - Jag Sharma
“Getting more users into the Facebook ecosystem through WhatsApp was far more profitable and meaningful to them than charging $1 each. The more data points Facebook has, the clearer the picture they can build on a person.” - 10:25 - Jag Sharma
“The big rumour at the moment is that Facebook plan to build an on-board, in-app algorithm that reads messages before they are encrypted & sent, so that keywords from these messages can be fed into the Facebook machine about the users having these WhatsApp conversations, and that data being used to create even more relevant and targeted ads, as well as beefing up the data they have on you.” - 13:25 - Jag Sharma
“Even if we don’t log into Facebook as much, all those photo albums and memories feel of value, and extracting them to leave feels like too much of an inconvenience. Leaving WhatsApp for Signal may also feel the same. Getting friends & loved ones to leave with you, teaching your family how to use a new messenger app when they’re already used to WhatsApp seems like too much of an inconvenience.” - 15:45 - Jag Sharma
Links & references:
Jag Sharma: