The Washington Post reports that Jan Koum, who co-founded WhatsApp in 2009 with Brian Acton in 2009, has resigned from his position at Facebook after disagreeing with the company over the privacy and security of the app.

Facebook is said to be interested in changing the way in which users of the app are monetised, as well as weakening the security of WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption.

Time To Move On

According to the WP, Koum is not happy with this, and left the company, announcing his departure via a Facebook update. Koum said: “It’s been almost a decade since Brian and I started WhatsApp, and it’s been an amazing journey with some of the best people. But it is time for me to move on. I’ve been blessed to work with such an incredibly small team and see how a crazy amount of focus can produce an app used by so many people all over the world.

“I’m leaving at a time when people are using WhatsApp in more ways than I could have imagined. The team is stronger than ever and it’ll continue to do amazing things. I’m 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’ll still be cheering WhatsApp on – just from the outside. Thanks to everyone who has made this journey possible.”

Privacy, Security, Encryption…

Koum’s departure comes at a difficult time for Facebook, with the company’s approach to data, privacy and security being questioned by governments and privacy organisations worldwide.

WhatsApp has prided itself upon it’s privacy and security (and lack of advertising) since it was initially launched. Given the recent concerns over Facebook’s attitude to collecting and utilising user data, Koum’s departure points to the Facebook’s current stance continuing.

WhatsApp recently announced that it would be raising the minimum age for users from 13 to 16 in Europe ahead of the new GDPR legislation, while Facebook has no similar plans.

In March 2018, the UK Information Commissioners Office blocked a move by WhatsApp to share user data with Facebook in order to improve targeted advertising and people-you-may-know functions.

I’m Grateful For Everything

Responding to Koum’s departure message, Mark Zuckerberg, posted: “I’m grateful for everything you’ve done to help connect the world, and for everything you’ve taught me, including about encryption and its ability to take power from centralized systems and put it back in people’s hands. Those values will always be at the heart of WhatsApp.”

Koum and Acton both urged people to delete their Facebook accounts in March. The founders have been adamant that WhatsApp would remain advertising free and that users’ data would remain private. With both founders now departed, there are fears that those principles could be about to change.