A Saudi Alternative To Whatsapp Is Launching Soon But People Have Some Concerns
The last few days have seen a lot of discussions on WhatsApp’s privacy policies and features and resulted in a lot of people considering moving to an alternate platform, such as Signal.
https://twitter.com/robertcharca/status/1350891216439799814
Following the backlash, WhatsApp announced that its privacy policy update is being moved back to May
It also clarified that no accounts are to be deleted.
Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We're still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with @WhatsApp users. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May – https://t.co/H3DeSS0QfO
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021
But people seem to have had their faith considerably shaken in the app and many are still looking for just the right alternatives.
And Pingme seems to be just that
https://twitter.com/mishal_alzahed/status/1350715876811689985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1350715876811689985%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flovin.co%2Fsaudi%2Far%2FD8A3D8B3D984D988D8A8-D8A7D984D8ADD98AD8A7D8A9%2FD8A7D984D8AAD983D986D988D984D988D8ACD98AD8A7%2FD8A7D984D987D8ACD8B1D8A9-D985D986-D988D8A7D8AAD8B3D8A7D8A8-D8A7D984D989-pingme-D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98A-D8A8D8A7D984D983D8A7D985D984%2F
Pingme claims that it is a ‘completely Saudi alternative’ to WhatsApp but keeps privacy a huge consideration
It is to launch on Feberuary 1.
حرصا منا ومن منطلق حماية الخصوصية لمملكتنا الغالية على قلوبنا ومواكبة لرؤية سمو سيدي ولي العهد السعودي الامير / محمد بن سلمان.
تم الاتفاق على تدشين اول تطبيق سعودي للرسائل الفورية ومشاركة الصور والفيديوهات والمزيد من الخيارات المتعددة
سيتم الاطلاق في 1FEB#العد_التنازلي#pingme— Pingme (@SaPingme) January 15, 2021
However, people do have some questions. The most common criticism has been the use of non-Saudi models in all the promotion pictures of the app – even though it claims to be marketing to a Saudi audience.
https://twitter.com/7kmngh/status/1350439324010115076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1350467110716248068%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flovin.co%2Fsaudi%2Far%2FD8A3D8B3D984D988D8A8-D8A7D984D8ADD98AD8A7D8A9%2FD8A7D984D8AAD983D986D988D984D988D8ACD98AD8A7%2FD8A7D984D987D8ACD8B1D8A9-D985D986-D988D8A7D8AAD8B3D8A7D8A8-D8A7D984D989-pingme-D8A7D984D8B3D8B9D988D8AFD98A-D8A8D8A7D984D983D8A7D985D984%2F
The app has made a statement to respond to these claims
They state that they are not using pictures of Saudis for their safety.
— Pingme (@SaPingme) January 16, 2021
However, reactions seem pretty mixed so far. Perhaps the verdict will made after the app is launched – on February 1
كنترول شغّل أغنية :
سلام عليكم .. وعليكم السلام 🎶 pic.twitter.com/GXu5BDA2AS
— هليّـل (@Helyyil) January 16, 2021
