Should a Muslim carry-on using WhatsApp?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Shari’ah has placed due importance upon the privacy of each individual. It is basic human dignity to respect the privacy of every individual, male or female, adult or minor. 

It is unfortunate that we live in times wherein our personal data is sold to companies for huge profits. All our information is technically used against us by the various advertisement companies who use our data to sell us products they think we need. 

Companies and apps using our data is no new concept. This practice has been going on for quite a while. The sad part is that people no longer care about it and do not even object to this. They accept it as a part of their lives and consider it a small price to pay for the conveniences offered to us by these apps and companies. 

The fact of the matter is, we have become addicted to these social media apps and we find it extremely difficult to quit. We are set in our ways and companies know this, and therefore take advantage. 

WhatsApp was in the spotlight recently due to asking the user to share their contact information. The truth is that many of the other social media apps we are accustomed to have gleaned most of our information by now. This is just one step further. WhatsApp itself defended their stance by saying such privacy policy updates are common in the industry. 

Coming to the question at hand, should a Muslim carry-on using WhatsApp? We cannot issue a ruling as there is no clear yes or no answer found in the books of Fiqh. Yes, what we can say is if one feels threatened by such update policies and wishes to protect his contact information, then he should shift to other apps which he feels are safer. 

On the other hand, if one is not perturbed by these updates, and believes that these apps and companies already possess all one’s private information, then there is still no harm in using WhatsApp. 

Yes, what is clear is that should an app use and view one’s private messages and photos, videos, etc., then for the sake of protecting one’s modesty and chastity, one should abstain from using such an app. It is not appropriate for one’s private messages to one’s spouse for example to be read by anyone besides the two of them. Such a breach of trust cannot be tolerated and accepted. 

WhatsApp still claims that personal messages, photos, and videos are protected by end-to-end encryption and cannot be viewed by anyone besides the two users. However, many have claimed that this too is not safe enough. 

Therefore, it is up to each individual whether he wishes to continue using apps like WhatsApp. There is no clear rule for permissibility and impermissibility. It is up to the individual. 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Bilal Yusuf Pandor

Student Darul Iftaa

Lusaka, Zambia

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai