For those of you who are not aware, WhatsApp Plus is a third party app that has all the same features as WhatsApp, but features a more minimalist design, different themes, along with other customization options. However, it still relies on WhatsApp’s servers, which apparently is against WhatsApp ToS. As a matter of fact, WhatsApp has published an official explanation on its website: WhatsApp invites current users of the WhatsApp Plus app to uninstall it and install an authorized version of WhatsApp. It seems that the ban lasts for 24 hours, after which the users can use WhatsApp again. What is upsetting the vast majority of users is the fact that they haven’t received any warnings prior to the banning. WhatsApp has recently partnered with Open Whisper Systems in order to enable end-to-end encryption for its Android client. But third-party apps like WhatsApp Plus don’t benefit from WhatsApp’s security measures, so in case an accounts gets compromised, it would be WhatsApp’s name that will have to suffer. While it’s alright for WhatsApp to protect its brand and users, we’re wondering whether it will start banning other third-party clients and won’t limit itself just to WhatsApp Plus.
