Choosing WhatsApp for team communication can lead to unwanted consequences as this popular but public messenger cannot protect your sensitive data decently.
WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users, making it one of the most used applications for messaging. However, it stores your data on public servers, requires a phone number for work, and can’t provide 100% protection even with end-to-end encryption.
Let’s find out why we do not recommend using WhatsApp for team communication.
WhatsApp for team communication lacks decent privacy measures
WhatsApp is owned by Meta (previously Facebook) which is by default a reason to be careful. You will never know if the company shares information about its users with the most controversial organization.
Public servers are always vulnerable especially if a company is that big and famous.
No user control management
What happens if a person who used WhatsApp for team communication leaves the company? They take shared information with them. You can’t force them to take a private phone.
In organizations, no matter whether small or large, it is important to track and control shared information between users to avoid possible leaks due to human factors. For example, an organization does not want employees to take photos or share files with each other. Or one department should not see another department. How to make it work in WhatsApp? There are no options for that.
Not enough collaboration features for internal communication
WhatsApp can’t work internally without an internet connection. It means, that during network outages or provider technical issues a team can’t access their messages and work gets stuck for hours sometimes. That occasionally happens with Slack which is also a public service.
An application for work must be independent and autonomous as much as possible, and that is only possible with self-hosting.
What is a self-hosted alternative to WhatsApp?
A privacy-focused MyChat provides a large set of collaboration tools and features including task management, an internal forum for employees, and more.
MyChat instant messenger allows working internally over LAN, or remotely via the internet. MyChat Server is a simple application that does not require a high-spec computer to perform. It is ready to work after the installation is complete and easy to manage via a regular browser.