Why FLAT PACK DAN AVOIDS USING WHATSAPP FOR BUSINESS
Flat Pack Dan chooses not to use WhatsApp for business because it is unreliable, ethically questionable, and not fit for serious, professional communication. This protects customers from avoidable privacy risks, lost messages, and association with a platform and parent company, Meta, that repeatedly faces major trust and integrity scandals.
Professional standards at Flat Pack Dan
We present ourselves as a professional, accountable service business, with clear processes and contact methods that create a reliable record of what was agreed. Using informal, app‑based chat for bookings, job instructions, or complaints would undermine that clarity and make it harder to trace and resolve issues properly.
Data collection and tracking concerns
WhatsApp is tightly integrated into Meta’s wider data ecosystem, which has a history of extensive data collection and invasive tracking practices. Even when messages are encrypted, metadata and contact information feed into a larger profiling machine that many regulators and privacy advocates view as deeply problematic.
Meta’s documented ethical failures
Meta, which owns WhatsApp, has a long and well‑documented history of serious ethical and legal controversies, including:
- The Cambridge Analytica scandal, where Facebook user data was harvested and misused for political profiling on a vast scale, leading to multibillion‑dollar fines and regulatory action in multiple countries.
- Repeated findings by regulators and courts in the EU and elsewhere that Meta violated data‑protection rules and user privacy, resulting in record GDPR penalties.
- Internal whistle‑blower revelations that the company knowingly allowed harmful content, manipulation, and misinformation to flourish because it prioritised engagement and growth over user safety.
These are not minor glitches but systemic examples of Meta acting unreliably and unethically when handling people’s information and attention.
Scams, abuse, and weak protection
WhatsApp has become a major channel for fraud, impersonation, and social‑engineering scams, from fake support agents and parcel messages to investment and romance frauds. While no platform can eliminate abuse entirely, Meta’s products have repeatedly been criticised for slow reactions, poor reporting pathways, and a tendency to act decisively only after harm is widespread and public pressure is intense.
Why this matters to Flat Pack Dan customers
For a local service business, losing a message, having an account suddenly restricted, or being impersonated on a chat platform can directly damage customers’ experiences and trust. By refusing to use WhatsApp and instead relying on more transparent, controllable channels (such as email and web forms), Flat Pack Dan reduces the risk of:
- Confusion about what was agreed or booked
- Sensitive details being mixed into a data‑harvesting ecosystem
- Customers being targeted by impersonation or scam attempts posing as the business
Flat Pack Dan’s policy is not just a preference for a different app; it is a deliberate decision to distance customers and the business from a communication platform and parent company whose track record shows unreliability, poor ethics, and repeated involvement in harmful and nefarious operations.