Tag: whatsapp

Scottish Government to end the use of non-corporate mobile messaging apps

‘Commitment to openness and transparency’

The Scottish Government is to stop the use of mobile messaging apps, including WhatsApp, on official devices following the publication of an externally-led review.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes welcomed the review of mobile messaging apps and non-corporate technology and confirmed that access to these apps will be removed from government devices in spring 2025.

Updated guidance and training for staff and Ministers will take place ahead of the new policy being implemented.

The review, led by former Channel Islands data protection commissioner Emma Martins, was commissioned in January this year by the then First Minister as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to improving openness and transparency.

Ms Martins makes 20 recommendations on different areas of corporate governance, including the values of the Scottish Government, learning and development process, recruitment procedures, records management and the use of mobile messaging apps. Improvement work is already underway – including strengthening the Scottish Ministerial Code and refreshing the mobile messaging app policy.

The Deputy First Minister said: “I am very grateful to Emma Martins for her time and insight in conducting her review.

“We have carefully considered the recommendations and we will end the use of mobile messaging applications to conduct government business by spring 2025.  At that point, mobile messaging apps will be removed from corporate devices.

“The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of mobile messaging apps.

“Ms Martins’ timely review sets out some of the most challenging issues facing all governments. Work has already started to implement recommendations, and we will build on that work to ensure that data management, especially in relation to new technologies, is as robust as possible in order to continue to deliver efficient and effective public services.”

Emma Martins said: “I was pleased to be appointed to conduct this review and I am grateful to the Scottish Government for the open and constructive way in which they have engaged with me throughout. 

 “Technologies are changing our lives at home and in the workplace. No organisation can afford to sit back and hope that navigating those changes will come without effort. Values need to be clear, individuals need to engage, and governance needs to be effective.

 “The Scottish Government already understands this and there a number of improvements already in train. It is my sincere hope that the recommendations in this review serve as additional fuel for that important journey.” 

Externally-led review into mobile messaging apps and non-corporate devices

Smartphone Free Childhood call for WhatsApp to reverse age reduction policy

Smartphone Free Childhood, the grassroots parents’ movement, has called on WhatsApp to reverse today’s change in age policy, which lowers the minimum age of use from 16 to 13 years old. 

As of April 11th, anyone in Europe over the age of 12 can now legally access the messaging service, after WhatsApp made a planned change to its age restriction policy. 

This comes despite growing national calls for greater protections for children around smartphone and social media use, including from the 60,000 parents who have joined Smartphone Free Childhood since it launched spontaneously eight weeks ago.

A recent nationwide poll found that 95% of parents said they wanted big tech companies to do more to protect their children, with 80% believing that age limits on social media were too low. 

Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood said: “WhatsApp are putting shareholder profits first and children’s safety second.

“Reducing their age of use from 16 to 13 years old is completely tone deaf and ignores the increasingly loud alarm bells being rung by scientists, doctors, teachers, child safety experts, parents and mental health experts alike. This policy boosts their user figures and maximises shareholder profits at the expense of children’s safety.

“Lowering their age restrictions from 16 to 13 sends a message to parents that WhatsApp is safe for those over the age of 12, and yet a growing body of research suggests otherwise.

“Meanwhile parents and teachers in the Smartphone Free Childhood community regularly reach out to us to share that it is a contributor to bullying, sleep disruption and access to harmful content.”

Meanwhile a growing body of research continues to raise serious questions about how suitable closed group messaging apps are for children and young teens. One recent study² found that 56% of students aged 8-18 reported that they had experienced cyberbullying in their class WhatsApp groups. 

Elsewhere, heavy use of screen media has been associated with shorter sleep duration and more mid-sleep awakening (in a study of more than 11,000 British children³) and many teachers have anecdotally reported to Smartphone Free Childhood that late night activity on WhatsApp is an increasing problem affecting children’s mood and ability to concentrate in class. 

Speaking about her recent report in partnership with the Association of School and College Leaders, Dr Kaitlyn Regehr Associate Professor of Digital Humanities at UCL said: “Our report shows that private, or closed, groups can enable more extreme material being shared, which in turn can have implications for young people’s offline behaviours.

“Young people increasingly exist within digital echo-chambers, which can normalise harmful rhetoric.”

Furthermore, numerous reports link WhatsApp to children accessing extreme content – including sexual imagery, self-harm material5 and videos of extreme violence such as beheadings and terrorist attacks. Studies proves that nearly a quarter of people viewing such content on social media will experience symptoms of PTSD6.

Meanwhile, the end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp threatens children’s safety on the app, making it hard for parents to understand who their children are talking to and leaving them at risk of grooming by sexual predators.

One in ten children report7 using the messaging site to talk to people they don’t already know, and one in six 14-16 year-olds have received something distressing from a stranger on the site. 

Despite these significant concerns, WhatsApp have as yet given no indication of how they plan to protect all the new under-16 users on their site, or how they will comply with UK law to remove the millions of under-13s already on the platform. 

SFC_How_to_make_a_parent_pactDownload

WhatsApp ‘family emergency’ scam warning

Online safety is increasingly important, even for popular platforms like WhatsApp. With over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp has become a favourite target for fraudsters and tactics have become more ingenious and effective than ever.

The majority of users are vulnerable when online, making it an irresistible platform for scammers. Cybersecurity experts from VPN Overview have compiled their top tips on how to recognise WhatsApp scams and how to prevent them:

What is WhatsApp fraud (friend or family emergency scam)?

WhatsApp fraud is a form of fraud in which cybercriminals pretend to be a victim’s acquaintance and then ask them for money. Currently, most of those criminals pose as a friend or family member and ask for financial help because “they urgently have to pay a (high) bill” or “they have an emergency and urgently need some money”.

Usually, the perpetrators pretend to be in a hurry, most likely to entice their victims to take immediate action. That is why this type of fraud is also referred to as a friend or family emergency scam. Sadly, on average victims loose thousands of dollars to WhatsApp scams. Age also seems to be a factor, with most of the victims being over 50 years old.

In most cases the phone number used by the criminal to commit WhatsApp fraud is unknown to the victim, yet the attached profile picture is familiar. Consequently, the victim thinks that he or she is indeed communicating with a friend or family member.

However, criminals can easily copy a photo from other social media platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram. The same applies to other information that can be used to mislead the victim. Like the vocabulary an individual may use, or certain events the individual may have posted about online (“Should’ve asked you for help when we were in that bar yesterday…”).

What are the tell-tale signs of WhatsApp scams?

  • Scammer creates a sense of urgency and pressures you to pay quickly.
  • Scammer contacts you from an unknown number.
  • Scammer informs about a number change and quickly talks about money.
  • Poor English is used in their messages.
  • Scammer does not want to be called.
  • Scammer asks for money to be transferred to an unknown account or uses an app that hides account numbers.

Tips to prevent WhatsApp fraud

  • Check if the number is correct if someone asks for money.
  • Check the language and communication style of the message.
  • Call the number or contact the person in a different way to verify the story.
  • Do not let the fraudster pressure you; think logically.
  • Ask the scammer a question only your friend or acquaintance would know the answer to if suspicious.
  • Secure voicemail with a personal code.
  • Never send a verification code without questioning.
  • Set up “2-Factor Authentication” on WhatsApp.

Remember that the tips provided above are not only important to protect yourself. If criminals manage to hijack your WhatsApp account, they can easily scam your contacts and possibly take over the accounts of your friends and family as well. 

I’ve been a victim of WhatsApp fraud, what can I do?

If you have been a victim of WhatsApp fraud, it is important to remain calm and report the incident to your bank and the police.

Depending on the circumstances, it may be possible to reverse the payment, but individuals must act quickly. Wire transfers are harder to recover, and online payment services or apps can complicate the process.

Even if a refund is not issued, the bank will investigate the fraud claim to protect customers and prevent future fraud. Reporting scams to WhatsApp and AnyScam is also recommended, and national help groups for victims of fraud can assist individuals in dealing with the process and preventing future fraud.

Facebook dominates App Market during lockdown

  • With 850 million downloads last year, TikTok is the world’s most popular app
  • However, four Facebook-owned social platforms appear among the top six, with a combined figure of more than two billion downloads
  • This accounts for almost half of the Top 10’s global download figures

A new study shows that while TikTok has been revealed as the world’s most popular and downloaded mobile app, social media giant Facebook dominates the market with four of its platforms.

Research conducted by app development company Bacancy Technology outlines that social video-sharing platform TikTok was downloaded a total of 850 million times last year, receiving 250 million more downloads than the second most popular app on the list, WhatsApp.

However, having acquired Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, Facebook takes up four spots in the Top 10 most popular apps of 2020, with a combined total of more than two billion downloads. This figure accounts for 46% of the total download figures within the top 10 list.

Following last year’s increase in remote working, conference call platform Zoom – which ranks fifth on the global list – received 477 million downloads last year, coupled with an increase in revenue of 317% over figures from 2019.

Top 10 Global Apps of 2020

AppDownloads 2020
TikTok850 million
WhatsApp600 million
Facebook540 million
Instagram503 million
Zoom477 million
Messenger404 million
Snapchat281 million
Telegram256 million
Google Meet254 million
Netflix223 million

Assessing a number of the most popular social platforms, the United States – which has the third largest population count in the world – ranks as the country with the highest active user counts for Tiktok, Instagram and Snapchat.

India, with the second highest population in the world, has the largest amount of users of both WhatsApp and Facebook.

Country with highest users counts for Apps (raw user figures)

AppCountry with highest user count# of users, in millions% of population
TikTokUnited States65.919%
WhatsappIndia39027%
FacebookIndia32022%
InstagramUnited States14042%
SnapchatUnited States10832%

However, analysing an app’s number of users as a percentage of each country’s population reveals that TikTok has the highest penetration in the Netherlands with 22% of its population using TikTok. This is followed by the US (19%) and Norway (18%).

Seven in 10 Spanish citizens are actively using Whatsapp, while three quarters of the population of the Philippines have active profiles on Facebook – a figure that trumps both America (57%) and the UK (55%).

Half of the Turkish population are active on their Instagram accounts – representing the country with the highest usage, and the same can be said of Snapchat’s popularity in Saudi Arabia, with 50% of the population holding active user accounts.

Naturally, these figures do not factor in fake accounts or users that may have more than one social media account, though they show an interesting indication of each app’s global popularity.

Country with highest users counts for Apps (as a percentage of population)

AppCountry with highest user count# of users, in millionsPopulation% of population
TikTokNetherlands3.817,178,41922%
US65.9333,230,77019%
Norway15,469,88718.20%
WhatsappSpain3346,775,58470%
Italy3560,359,65758.00%
Germany4884,091,60457%
FacebookPhilippines83111,249,11674%
Thailand5170,000,66272%
Mexico93130,486,51271%
InstagramTurkey4485,379,96151%
Brazil95214,289,41744%
US140333,230,77042%
SnapchatSaudi Arabia19.635,433,66255%
France24.565,439,40737%
United States108333,230,77032%

TikTok triumphs once again as the world’s highest-grossing app, with reported revenue of 540 million USD last year. Despite lockdown restrictions limiting face-to-face contact, online dating platform Tinder lands in second place with 513 million USD, and streaming video giant YouTube rounds off the top three, snatching up 478 million USD.

Highest grossing app of 2020 (Global)

AppRevenue, millions USD
TikTok540
Tinder513
YouTube478
Disney314
Tencent Video300
Piccoma289
Line Manga249
iQIYI240
Netflix209

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Bacancy Technology said: “Lockdown restrictions and the ‘stay at home’ mantra of 2020 caused many of us to turn to the internet and various apps for entertainment and to indulge in some level of human interaction.

“TikTok’s seemingly endless library of entertainment has clearly captured the attention of millions of people, while the staple social media apps continue to be an integral part of our daily lives.”

This research was conducted by app development company Bacancy Technology, an exclusive hub of top software developers, UI/UX designers, QA experts and more, offering development services aimed at the creation of high-end, enviable applications.

Government launches Coronavirus Information Service on WhatsApp

The UK Government has launched a GOV.UK Coronavirus Information service on WhatsApp.

The new free to use service aims to provide official, trustworthy and timely information and advice about coronavirus (COVID-19), and will further reduce the burden on NHS services.

This will help combat the spread of coronavirus misinformation in the UK, as well as helping ensure people stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.

The GOV.UK Coronavirus Information Service is an automated ‘chatbot’ service which will allow the British public to get answers to the most common questions about coronavirus direct from government.

The service will provide information on topics such as coronavirus prevention and symptoms, the latest number of cases in the UK, advice on staying at home, travel advice and myth busting.

The service will also allow the government to send messages to all opted-in users if required.

To use the free GOV.UK Coronavirus Information Service on WhatsApp, simply add 07860 064422 in your phone contacts and then message the word ‘hi’ in a WhatsApp message to get started.

A set of menu options is then presented which the user can choose from and then be sent relevant guidance from GOV.UK pages as well as links to GOV.UK for further information.

Matt Idema, Chief Operating Officer, WhatsApp, said: “At difficult times like these, people are using WhatsApp more than ever to connect with and support their friends, family and communities.

“We are pleased to be able to provide the UK Government with the communications tools to help them answer the public’s questions about the virus with reliable, timely health advice, in order to keep people safe.”

Prof Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director, Public Health England, said: “This service will help us ensure the public has a trusted source for the right information about coronavirus, updated with the latest public health guidance and providing assurance that they are not misled by any of the false information circulating.

Other recent Government communications include:

Earlier this week the government texted people across the UK to inform them of the new rules announced by the Prime Minister on 23 March 2020. Details here – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-sms-messages

The Government has also sent text messages to the vulnerable as part of the shielding package announced by the Prime Minister on 22 March 2020.

Details here – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

WhatsApp groups set up as communities pull together

“Street level” messenger groups are springing up across the UK as communities forge new relationships to help each other through the Coronavirus self-isolation crisis.

Messenger apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are being conscripted to connect whole streets worried about how to survive self-isolation and loneliness.

Young and old are uniting to help those without and those needing help and support at their time of need.

“A neighbour set up a group and we now have 10 of 12 houses on the street subscribed”, explains Jonathan Ratcliffe, who lives on Windermere Avenue in  Menston, Yorkshire.

Ratcliffe, who is currently running national office agency Offices.co.uk from home, has been in self-isolation since Monday juggling work and family life.

“We haven’t been to the shops this week, life is testing let’s say! John down the road asked on WhatsApp if anyone needed anything, and 30 minutes later we had bread, bananas and paracetamol – it really helps morale”, explained Jonathan.

Being able to draw on neighbours for help and social interaction is going to become a hallmark of the efforts needed to get the country through the next 12 weeks.

“No one knows where this is going and who might need help. We have a 10-week-old baby with a heart condition, and so we are being extra careful”, added Jonathan. “My neighbours help now will be paid back twice over when we are out of isolation– it’s lovely knowing that there is support on our doorstep should we need it”.

Other groups have sprung up locally in Menston supporting streets and even whole estates.

One such group has been set up covering Menston’s Moorfield Avenue by resident David Williams.

“We are in the process of setting up a WhatsApp group to cover our street,” David explained. “We started by dropping a note through everyone’s door, so they knew who to text to join the group. 

“We are then identifying those who need to self-isolate and pairing them up with people who can help out so people can self-organise as much as possible but also stay in touch as things develop.”

Zoe Edwards, who lives in the centre of the village, added: “We have done similar on our road although tricky when some people don’t use or have WhatsApp. We are trying to keep in touch with those people separately”.

The Windermere Avenue group: 10 houses have joined out of 12

  • 18 people have joined the group
  • Age ranges from 38 to 75
  • One house currently in self-isolation

Resident Alison Wilson in Menston is using the platform to forward-plan a big party to celebrate the community spirit locally in Menston: “Once this is over, we need a massive big street/village party to cheer ourselves up and thank everyone for their kindness and community spirit”.

“Creating support groups now is really important. Being able to ask for help should you need it is going to be a lifeline for many people, young and old – the love and support I’ve seen on our street for neighbours has been humbling”, concluded Jonathan.