Elon Musk slams WhatsApp for nightly user data export

An X user claimed that WhatsApp exports user data every night for analysis and targeted advertising, turning users into products rather than customers.

New Delhi: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Saturday slammed Meta-owned WhatsApp for allegedly exporting users’ data every night.

An X user posted that WhatsApp exports user data nightly, which is “analysed and used for targeted advertising, making users the product, not the customer”.

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Musk replied that “WhatsApp exports your user data every night”. “Some people still think it is secure,” said the tech billionaire.

Meta or WhatsApp were yet to comment on Musk’s allegation.

Computer programmer and video game developer, John Carmack, responded to Musk, saying is there any evidence that the content of messages is ever scanned or transmitted?

“I assume usage patterns and routing metadata is collected, and if you invoke a bot in a conversation you are obviously opening it up, but I am still under the impression that the message contents are secure by default,” Carmack posted on X.

The X owner has attacked Mark Zuckerberg-run Meta Platform in the past too.

Earlier this month, the billionaire claimed that Meta is super greedy at taking credit for advertisers who run campaigns on its platform.

The rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg is well known.

They were apparently set for a “cage fight’ some time back — dubbed as the fight of the century. However, the showdown between the tech leaders never happened.