YOU would think that with the billions of dollars in profit they make annually, the most popular social media and messaging platforms would take pains to ensure their integrity, as these apps have become almost like the second home to the millions of global subscribers who fuel the sustained profitability of the companies behind these platforms—men, women and even children who freely share bits and pieces of their lives and their thoughts to families and friends near and far, and even to random strangers who seem like kindred spirits.
Of course, after every privacy breach or scandal that grabbed headlines since these social media and messaging apps achieved ubiquity, the companies sought to assure subscribers, quickly and efficiently, with ostensibly stricter security measures to be taken immediately going forward.
By and large, the public appears to have shrugged off these intermittent security breaches as par for the course
in this age of “oversharing,” obviously putting a larger premium on the conveniences these social media and messaging platforms provide. True enough, even with
steady stream of disturbing and even shocking revelations regarding the 2016 US presidential elections, this continuing scandal also involving three of the world’s biggest Internet companies, there has been no reported widespread shunning of these apps.
However, not a few of the country’s popular bloggers, influencers and tech pundits are weighing in on why people who regularly use these social media and messaging platforms should read the fine print and be mindful of security and privacy issues. Manila Bulletin’s Badong Hilario, for one, places the issue in an everyday layman’s perspective:
“The privacy setting is placed there for a purpose. Foremost, of course, is security. Social messaging means you deal with different people. You communicate or engage with friends, families and business associates. Each of them needs various interaction personally, hence the precaution to deal with them differently.
“To simplify, you can’t afford to mix your conversations with them. You can’t afford to send a message of business importance to an acquaintance, a secret love affair convo with a second lover to your first lover. Just imagine ‘mwah-mwah-ing’ a good night to your boss, or a sexy photo to the head of your human-resources department.”
Meanwhile, beauty blogger and influencer Lee Shen Gee says that how one approaches or uses social media and messaging “depends on how open you are with your life. In this day and age that people get to track you wherever you are, privacy seems to be a privilege. But you can definitely control it by limiting what you share.
“Whatever you put on these apps are up for grabs anyone. Control what you share. Even if the app is doing everything they can protect your privacy and your content, there’s always something that could go wrong. With the fast-paced advance of technology, it also comes with a fast-paced way for criminal activities.”
For Lee Shen Gee, the privacy options the public should look out for include: “I should be able to download all my content. It should be that if and when I delete something,
it is really forever deleted. And there should better verifications of accounts.”
To blogger and fashion photographer John Bueno, “privacy is paramount in any platform. Keeping your details safe from unscrupulous individuals should always be first. You choose what you post—but information these apps require sometimes are the same information you give to government agencies and banks, and [unscrupulous individuals] may get access to vital information which only you should know. If they get access to that, what’s going to stop them from doing something evil? Hack your connections, your money, control your life.”
Bueno also cautions the public to “only trust apps that have been reviewed by a huge number of people, trusted web sites and sources. Otherwise, you may become victim to phishing and malware. Choose the amount of security to your posts, choose the people who can only see them. Always make sure you put and segregate people on lists—so you can simply click and choose what you need to show people, and not the other way around. Don’t post birthdates, full names, things that can be asked to recover your passwords easily.”
Finally, BusinessMirror beauty columnist and blogger Dinna Chan Vasquez takes issue with one hugely popular social-media platform, saying it “is very invasive in the sense that once you have an account, it would be quite easy for others to track you. The other social media and messaging apps are not as invasive but still not foolproof in terms of protecting your privacy. For instance, you can block someone on one micro-blogging platform but he or she could still access your profile picture.”
She cautions that consumers “should be aware that using an app or social-media platform means you’re out there and that people see whatever you post and share. Being out there is helpful, yes, but it can be risky, too, in terms of privacy. And if you ask me what privacy option should be added to these apps, I will say these apps should make it unable for users to screen-captue anything.”
Viber, a free cross-platform instant messaging and voice over IP (VoIP) application operated by Japanese multinational company Rakuten, has become one of the most popular applications among iOS and Android users, with a growing base among desktop users, as well.
No doubt Viber’s popularity has been fueled by the app’s easy-to-use interface, and the lack of intrusive ads that are common to free applications. However, the security it provides users has also gained prominence in light of the endless stream of news involving privacy concerns.
Not only does it provide end-to-end encryption for messages and calls all the time (this means in plainspeak
that only you and the recipient have access to your messages and calls), but it also has such additional security features, such as Secret Chats, which allows you to set a self-destruct timer for every message in the conversation (messages in these chats are not only end-to-end encrypted but if the recipient is using an Android phone, they can’t be screenshot); and Hidden Chats, which allows you to completely hide a conversation from your chat list and can be accessed only via a PIN you provided.
Moreover, with Viber you can also verify the identity of who you’re chatting with by exchanging secret keys. The app will notify you if anything about the contact’s details changes so you can be sure the person you’re talking to is who they say they are. You can also hide your online status and the delivery status of the messages they send you. Finally, if you need an added feature to help protect the content you’re sharing, you need only use the app’s delete messages feature, which hit its 7-billion mark last year. Delete any message you may have accidentally sent to the wrong recipient or simply regret writing in a matter of seconds.
Despite headlines constantly bearing troublesome news about security and privacy breaches on the Internet, it’s highly unlikely that consumers will abandon the popular social media and messaging platforms they have embraced to share aspects of their private lives. That said, it must be underscored that it behooves the public to be mindful of the dangers that lurk in the ethers, and use only applications that provide security with no compromises.