WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum announced on Monday that he is leaving the company. Reports suggest he has become frustrated with the direction in which parent-company Facebook is taking the messaging app, with particular concerns centering on data privacy and business strategy.<\/b>
\nWhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum announced on Monday that he\u2019s leaving the company.
Koum launched the messaging app with Brian Acton in 2004 before selling it to Facebook for a colossal $19 billion in 2014. It currently has more than 1.5 billion users.
In a message posted online, Koum simply said that he was \u201ctaking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology,\u201d but a report in the Washington Post claims his departure comes after a clash with Facebook over data privacy issues as well as the messaging service\u2019s business strategy.
Keeping WhatsApp independent of outside interference \u2014 even from the company that bought it \u2014 and preserving the privacy of its user data were central to Koum and Acton\u2019s vision for its messaging app. However, the Post suggested in its report that attempts by Facebook \u201cto use its personal data and weaken its encryption\u201d had caused tensions between the two companies, with the recent data scandal involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica contributing to \u201ca climate of broader frustration with Facebook among WhatsApp employees,\u201d sources with knowledge of the matter told the news outlet.
Acton departed WhatsApp in November 2017, and in March tweeted his support for the #DeleteFacebook movement that gained momentum in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Announcing his departure in a Facebook post, Koum mentions none of the reported issues that apparently prompted him to walk away. Instead, he describes his time with WhatsApp as \u201can amazing journey with some of the best people,\u201d adding that it was \u201ctime for me to move on.\u201d
He continued: \u201cI\u2019m taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology, such as collecting rare air-cooled Porsches, working on my cars and playing ultimate frisbee. And I\u2019ll still be cheering WhatsApp on \u2014 just from the outside. Thanks to everyone who has made this journey possible.\u201d
In a comment responding to Koum\u2019s message, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg wrote: \u201cJan: I will miss working so closely with you. I\u2019m grateful for everything you\u2019ve done to help connect the world, and for everything you\u2019ve taught me, including about encryption and its ability to take power from centralized systems and put it back in people\u2019s hands. Those values will always be at the heart of WhatsApp.\u201d
In WhatsApp\u2019s early days, Koum and Acton made a big deal of their reluctance to collect user data or include ads in the app, a strategy in stark contract to Facebook\u2019s approach. So when Zuckerberg made the pair a multi-billion-dollar offer they couldn\u2019t refuse, Koum and Acton insisted on assurances that the core values behind WhatsApp would stay in place.
But with Facebook keen to score some returns on its investment, the social networking giant eventually got WhatsApp to alter its terms of service to give it access to users\u2019 phone numbers, as well as other data that it could use to benefit its broader business.
Another issue centered on advertising. Following the acquisition, Facebook got WhatsApp to ditch its $1-a-year subscription fee, but with the app\u2019s founders keen to keep ads of the platform, Facebook needed to find other ways to generate revenue. It came up with a tool that allowed businesses to chat more easily with customers, but when Facebook bosses wanted to make it easier for businesses to use the tool, Koum and Acton feared it would mean weakening WhatsApp\u2019s end-to-end encryption that it introduced in 2016.
Other gradual changes that pushed Facebook and WhatsApp closer together reportedly served to increase tensions between the two companies, culminating in Koum announcing his departure this week, with the Post describing the Ukrainian-born entrepreneur as \u201cworn down by the differences in approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

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