WhatsApp bug notifies users.
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As social media posts go, this one probably needed a few more reviews. The WhatsApp last happy message on X failed miserably, with users worried that the Meta platform suddenly admitted to reading their end-to-end encrypted content.
The message was simple: “people who end messages with ‘lol’ we see you, we honor you,” the platform posted on X, quickly amassing more than 5 million views.
But it turns out that “we see you” isn’t a smart message when your platform relies on assuring 3 billion users that you’re not seeing them at all. “What about end-to-end encryption,” many users quickly responded with alarm.
“We meant ‘see you’ figuratively lol (see what we did there?), WhatsApp replied. “Your private messages are protected with end-to-end encryption and nobody, not even WhatsApp, can see them.” See them or not see them, you can appreciate the theme.
And then to the suggestions that it means no privacy and questions about its encryption, WhatsApp assured that “your private messages are private between you and the recipient. The ‘See you’ in our original post was meant as a way to say we relate and understand people who love to use lol as a way to end a message.”
There is an irony here, of course. All this was done on Elon Musk’s platform. The X supremo has clashed with WhatsApp on the platform in the past over the sanctity of users and their messages. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him come in later.
Lesson. We see that it is not a smart message when we No I see that is the whole point of your platform. WhatsApp’s 3 billion users can relax. The encryption remains intact and has not been changed. This was a misguided marketing message, not an admission of eavesdropping after years of ensuring otherwise. But still, it’s a lot of fun. Lol.
