WhatsApp's group fix is Not the fix you really need

WhatsApp recently announced "new privacy settings for groups" to fix being added to unwelcome groups.

Control who can add you to WhatsApp groups.

WhatsApp's new feature is a carbon copy of a long standing Telegram feature, and works in the same way.

Control who can add you to Telegram groups.

So you can now control who can add you to WhatsApp groups, yay!
It's helpful but it doesn't tackle a more fundamental issue with WhatsApp.

WhatsApp Data leakage

When you are added to a group in WhatsApp you will likely enter a space where there are people who are NOT in your contacts.

Those people appear as phone numbers.

You now have access to a fundamentally private, or non-public piece of information.

The same is true from their perspective.

Other people have access to YOUR telephone number. And there is no way you can control this data leakage either.

No data leakage in Telegram

In Telegram the name you apply to your Telegram account is what is exposed to other users in groups you join or are added to.

If you choose not to expose your phone number it is not shown to other members of any public or private groups you are a member of.

It's this leaking of non-public data which remains the biggest issue for WhatsApp. That issue is not tackled at all by this latest WhatsApp fix. 

This is one of the main reasons I would recommend using Telegram over WhatsApp as your main messaging service. 

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