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Qa Whatsapp Cathcart Facebookapple Whatsapp Indiakantrowitz: WhatsApp CEO and co-founder Will Cathcart, 30, talks to The Indian Express in an exclusive interview: “The debate over traceability is absurd.”

On January 22, a New York Times report said that WhatsApp was setting up deals with device manufacturers such as Samsung to share user data. This data would include information such as phone calls and text messages – but not the contents of a conversation on WhatsApp. The report also said that other Facebook-owned companies – such as Instagram and Oculus – were included in these discussions.

In response to this, WhatsApp sent out a press statement saying that the report “misrepresents” the way it intends to use this data, and that “the only information we will share with Facebook is…your phone number if you give us permission to share it.”

Meanwhile, on January 28, WhatsApp started rolling out a feature called Status Sharing. The feature allows users to send messages such as a status update or photo (on a messaging service sharing feature called Direct Message) that may be viewed publicly by their friends – and the public – without alerting them. The company later announced a new feature called Broadcast Lists, allowing users to share particular messages – such as their location or the number of people who have liked their status update – with specific groups of friends.

The news was followed by a public debate on whether WhatsApp’s new features violate the privacy of its users in India. At this point, we reached out to CEO and co-founder of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart (30), to get his perspective on these developments.

Q: The New York Times reported that WhatsApp is in talks with mobile phone companies to share user data. How is WhatsApp using user data?

A: We’ve been talking about this for a long time – we first announced it as part of our roadmap back in February 2014. Our intention has always been to enable people to connect with the people they care about on their phones, while keeping their privacy safe and secure. A key part of this has been to share data with our parent company, Facebook. We’ve done this by sharing information such as your phone number, if you choose to do so. The only information we will share with Facebook is your phone number if you give us permission to share it.

Q: Instagram also has a feature where users can post a photo publicly to their friends without alerting them. Will this feature be extended to WhatsApp?

A: We don’t have any plans to expand the feature beyond Instagram just yet.

Q: It has been reported that WhatsApp will start sharing data with device manufacturers such as Samsung in order to improve user experience. How will this improve user experience?

A: The focus on user experience and ease of use is key to what we do at WhatsApp. One way we’re doing this is by enabling users to share media in Status, or share their location or the number of people who have liked their status update. We are also exploring ways for users to share a list of who has seen these types of updates, in order to reduce the number of times a user has to check back in with someone else to see if they saw their message.