2021 hasn’t been the most smooth-sailing year for WhatsApp with the app facing a severe backlash on issues related to privacy or lack thereof. To ward off all the doubts and concerns users might have on their privacy functions, WhatsApp launched the international campaign ‘Message Privately’ which consists of three films to demonstrate the security WhatsApp maintains through its end-to-end encryption.

The first of the three films known as the ‘Double Date’ focuses on an awkward date between two couples where one couple seems to take all the spotlight in the date while the other pair seem to be texting each other secretly during the conversation where they’re shown to be attracted to each other as they continue their texting. While they’re texting, the on-screen text reads: ’What brought them together, with end-to-end encryption, only they know.’

Eshan Ponnadurai, WhatsApp’s director of brand and consumer marketing, admits that ’Message Privately’ is informed by the reaction to its updates. “Earlier this year, we created a bit of confusion and uncertainty for our users,” he says. “As a company, we saw firsthand how concerned they were about their privacy and the worry that people might be reading the messages. We know how important privacy is for our users.
We spent a lot of time with consumers to understand what they were feeling and it was very clear to us that the thing they care about most is their personal messages.
So, with the creative we wanted to ensure and empower our users that their messages continue to be private. So you’ll see the in the campaign itself that we focus on everyday moments where users expect things to be private. It’s just a reinforcement of that.”