WhatsApp announced on lan. 5 it will force users to share information with Facebook if they want to keep using the service. Privacy advocates have questioned the move, citing Facebook's track record in handling user data. It has also prompted some people online including Tesla founder Elon Musk to call for users to leave the app and use more privacy-focused messaging services like Signal and Telegram. "Every time a company combines data from multiple sources, multiple platforms, it raises privacy concerns because it increases the possibility that people can be identied, that a company knows more about you," said a professor at Ryerson University. This is why "WhatsApp users are concerned about the increased integration with Facebook." The option to share data with Facebook has existed on the app for years, but up until now, it was only an option. The terms now clearly state that \"WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, the other Facebook companies. We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate" and market our services. However, WhatsApp announced that the key allure of the app end-to- end encrypted conversations and calls is still intact. Neither WhatsApp itself nor Facebook and its entities can access them, meaning no one, including WhatsApp, knows what users are saying to each other. WhatsApp says it will not share contacts with Facebook, nor can it or Facebook see users' shared location. Messages can still be set to disappear and groups still remain private, the company clarified on Twitter this week. The information that will be shared with Facebook includes the user's browser information, language, time zone, IP address and mobile network in addition to the phone's battery level, signal strength and connection information such as your internet service provider. Nonetheless, companies often collect data and they don't know how they plan on using it,- once they start, it's then that we discover ethical and privacy concerns. Part of the concern stems from Facebook's irresponsible track record on privacy, considering the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook has long been in the spotlight for privacy breaches and security vulnerabilities, starting from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Every issue since has added to a negative perception of the company overall. On jan. 5, the day WhatsApp warned about its updated privacy terms, users started to abandon ship. Many have opted to take their encrypted conversations to similar messaging apps Signal and Telegram