This is an update that iPhone users should avoid
This was always going to be a seminal year for messaging, headlined by Apple’s long-delayed adoption of RCS and its partial integration with iMessage. But a much bigger change is happening, one with far more serious consequences, and that applies especially to millions of iPhone users on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has had an uneasy relationship with its parent company, Meta (Facebook), since its acquisition in 2014. While the size and depth of investment has catapulted WhatsApp into the world’s largest messenger, Meta’s itchy, data-hungry fingers have sometimes strayed too far. This has seriously rocked WhatsApp in 2021, and we could now be on the cusp of something similar.
But first, let’s cover iMessage and RCS. Apple is widely expected to unveil the already confirmed change at WWDC this month. Let’s be very clear: there is only one thing that matters when it comes to personal messages: security.
As things stand, we don’t yet expect Apple and Google to collaborate on full end-to-end encryption of the RCS bridge between iMessage and Google Messages, despite both platforms having that level of security within their own walled gardens . Don’t even consider moving off a secure platform until they do. Nowadays you can choose from WhatsApp, Signal and even Facebook Messenger, all of which offer seamless cross-platform, fully secure messaging. Don’t look anywhere else.
As I’ve reported before, WhatsApp is emerging in Apple’s backyard, the US, the only place on the planet of any significance that still prefers iMessage to WhatsApp. But that seems likely to change as WhatsApp’s network effect takes effect. I don’t expect RCS to make a big difference. WhatsApp is sticky and offers a single, unified interface for iOS and Android. It is also fully secured. At this point, we only expect an SMS+ upgrade from Apple to its green bubbles. That is not enough.
But Meta and Apple may start to give users another reason to consider their messaging options: AI. And here Apple could have a trump card over Meta and WhatsApp, which might be hard for users to resist.
It’s Google that first opened the door to an AI chatbot/secure messenger integration. “You can chat with Gemini in the Google Messages app,” it is announced, “to compose messages, brainstorm ideas, plan events, or just have a fun conversation.”
The introduction of Gemini, its complex privacy policy and the new what-is-coded-and-what-not AI layer on messaging is concerning. I see the simplicity and user interest in an out-of-the-box fast user interface. But the risk is that it undermines the end-to-end enclave nature of a messaging platform, which tunnels directly into Google’s cloud, not to mention the on-device and off-device confusion around features like automated replies and contextualized summaries that follow.
We don’t know yet exactly what Apple will announce about AI at WWDC, but we do know that it will likely emphasize the on-device nature of anything sensitive that works on user data or potentially captures private questions. Apple’s hope – and it’s a big step – is that it can jump on the smartphone AI bandwagon while maintaining its privacy and security differentiation. Samsung has tried with its hybrid AI, but that’s in many ways just as confusing as Android’s own offering. Apple needs to do better.
Will there be an AI prompt in iMessage? Will this be Apple’s own on-device model or a tunnel to ChatGPT or something similar? We do not know. However, the answers are critical, and whatever is done will have to be cloaked in Apple’s reputation for security, privacy, and the sanctity of user data.
There isn’t much to say about Meta, as its business model is based on data mining, analysis and exploitation. And so Meta’s rather quiet introduction of its own ‘ask Meta’ AI tunnel from WhatsApp could be a big deal in the making.
There are two problems here for WhatsApp, especially when it comes to iPhone users. First, just the basics of how users ensure the security of end-to-end encryption when there is a Meta-cloud outreach built into the same UI. No one has yet done a good job with a simple, clear privacy policy that explains to users exactly what is being done with their data as they interact with a user interface.
The usual response to the comment that Gemini on Google Messages or Ask Meta on WhatsApp are not end-to-end encrypted is that you cannot end-to-end encrypt a chat between a user and Google or Meta’s clouds. And while that’s true, because the end-Unpleasant-end end-to-end refers to two devices, the transmitter and the receiver. If the AI is only on the device, then that is the same as end-to-end encryption.
Google is clear about your risks, so let’s make this stupidly simple. “Google collects your Gemini Apps conversations, related product usage information, location information, and your feedback. Google uses this information, in accordance with our privacy policy, to provide, improve and develop Google products and services and machine learning technologies, including Google business products.
Meta assures that prompts are not tied to user profiles, but also says that “when you tap, send, or enter a search suggestion on your keyboard, you will only be asked to accept the Meta AI Terms of Service if you have never interacted with Meta AI. You will then be redirected to a chat with Meta AI to continue the interaction. Once you start a chat with Meta AI, Meta can use your AI messages to improve AI quality.”
This brings us to the second problem, which is more subtle, but potentially more important for WhatsApp. Apple is about to promote its AI differentiation among its user base. And you can be sure that the words security and privacy will be incorporated into everything. Meta has a different reputation and track record of clashing with Apple. I don’t think a blatant level of meta-integration within WhatsApp will do the messenger any favors. It is a big mistake and needs to be thought about before being rolled out on a large scale.
If Meta and WhatsApp feel the need to follow Google’s lead and bring an AI chatbot UI to the platform, they will need to take a market leading position in terms of the security, clarity and transparency to do so. Parallel, negative headlines about the complexity of Meta’s AI data collection and training and the difficulties with opt-outs won’t do brand association any favors for WhatsApp at all – because it’s not directly in the app.
The downside to Meta is that it doesn’t have device and/or operating system control like Apple and Google do, and that means the options are much more limited. Apple can take advantage of this if it uses a chatbot user interface in iMessage. It’s hard to see how Meta/WhatsApp can compete while maintaining their enclave.
All of this risks dismantling the campaign I expected from WhatsApp after WWDC, highlighting its security and privacy advantages over iMessage and limited RCS implementation. What happens next will be fascinating…