Privacy Laws - WhatsApp: How much data privacy can you expect to have?

Is WhatsApp using your personal information?

Staying away from social media such as Facebook and Twitter and deliberately limiting the amount of personal information you disclose online may not be enough to protect yourself from having your private data exposed.

Last week, the mobile phone messaging client WhatsApp came under fire from Canadian and Dutch privacy czars for forcing those who download the app to upload their entire address book.

In a statement, the office of the Canadian privacy commissioner said it had "reasonable grounds" to believe the California-based developer was "collecting, using, disclosing and retaining personal information" of those who had never used the app, but may have given their phone numbers to a friend or contact who does use the app.

Although yesterday was Safer Internet Day, which promotes the responsible use of the web and mobile phones, given that we rely on technology to navigate almost every facet of our lives, how much privacy can we now realistically expect?

Very little, experts say.

Read more: How much data privacy can you expect to have? - Technology & Science - CBC News