Could this be the beginning of the end for Whatsapp?

4

October

2016

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We all heard the rumours that Whatsapp soon will start to use its app as an advertising platform for businesses. Furthermore, we have all been confronted by the lack of privacy which comes with the use of social media. Suggestions have been made that due the encryption of our messages in the Whatsapp software our privacy might be gone. The encryption of the messages sent via Whatsapp are vulnerable to session hijacking. With a large sum of the total communication (37%) done with the messaging system Whatsapp this issue, among others, might decrease the usage of this software (Katescomment, 2016). (Sanchez, 2013)

What should happen would a replacement for the current communicating software arise? Tomorrow, the 20th of September, Google will introduce a messaging app, Allo.

About Allo
The messaging app can be described as pretty similar to Whatsapp; the software is free and available for android, Iphone and Windows phone. The main difference is that the new software will feature a Google assistant. The assistant is a new conversational interface to get information from google whilst using the messaging app to make the conversation more engaging.

Although the chat app is fairly new and limited operational knowledge is known within the social media market, the expectations are high. The main barricade to a successful adaption of the new software is the messaging platforms which have already achieved a billion-user scale. The dissatisfaction the users of Whatsapp currently have might be a window of opportunity for a new communicating app such as Allo. (Bohn, 2016)

So the question arisen in the article is will Allo compete with Whatsapp or will the community of more than half a million users be enough to keep costumers from other chat apps with more features like Allo. Could the improved communication software Allo replace the current market competitor.

 

https://www.katescomment.com/can-we-trust-whatsapps-privacy/http://www.seguridadofensiva.com/2013/11/presenting-defeating-whatsapps-lack-of-privacy-at-blackhat-sao-paulo.htmlhttp://www.theverge.com/2016/5/18/11699122/google-allo-messaging-app-announced-io-2016

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Should you go for Google Allo?

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2016

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What is Google Allo?

On September 21st 2016 Google Inc. launched its chat app Google Allo. Just like WhatsApp, Google Allo uses your phone number to connect with their app and send messages to contact persons in your phonebook. The app is available for both Android and iOS. Allo has a few features that make it unique: Google Assistant, incognito mode and Smart reply (automatic responses via learning over time). The downside to Smart reply that bothers people is the automatic storage of all your chat messages on the Google servers.

 

What makes Google Allo different from other chat apps?

The first feature that makes Google Allo different from other chat apps is Google Assistant. This virtual assistant can answer questions privately or within chats with your friends, can give suggested follow up questions as shortcuts to manually typing, can pull information from the internet and it has a machine learning component. This self-learning assistant is a precursor of an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) virtual assistant. Secondly, there is an incognito mode in which your chats are end-to-end encrypted and can only be seen by the participants. In this mode Google can’t read any of your messages which means you can’t use the Smart reply or Assistant features. The last unique feature is the Smart reply which makes replying to conversations easier and faster. It recalls typical responses of the user and gives the applicable ones as reply options to a photo or a message. Smart reply adjusts itself to the user’s writing style and improves through time.

 

What are the privacy implications of Google Allo?

If you decide not to use incognito mode then your chat logs are stored on Google’s servers indefinitely until you actively decide to delete them. These chats aren’t encrypted and can be requested by US government authorities through a search warrant. That is why Edward Snowden, ex-CIA employee and whistleblower, advises against using Allo. Another criticism is that the app may tempt people to prefer the AI assistant over the privacy of an end-to-end encrypted chat. This design choice seems to be a step backward for people who are concerned about the continuously challenged legal status of end-to-end encryption.

 

Should you go for Google Allo?

At this point in time my answer is: no. The Google Assistant feature is promising and works well but isn’t groundbreaking enough for me to switch from WhatsApp to Google Allo. If you want to use end-to-end encryption for protecting your privacy, you have to enable the incognito mode. In this mode the most important additional features, Google Assistant and Smart reply, don’t work.

 

References:

Everything You Need to Know About Google Allo’s Privacy Backlash

http://www.ibtimes.com/google-allo-messaging-app-features-smart-reply-incognito-mode-google-assistant-2419942

https://support.google.com/allo/answer/6383724?hl=en

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/09/21/google-allo-can-the-new-chat-app-outsmart-whatsapp-and-imessage/

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