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If you see WhatsApp as a software tool, it is the most widely used digitization tool i clubs. In this article, you can find out why this is the case and why you should look for an alternative
One thing in advance: This post is not meant to hit on WhatsApp. However, we see it as an important point of information, which we do not want to withhold from you. Our information also doesn't say that WhatsApp should not be used at all. However, there are major restrictions that many clubs are not aware of.
But now to the question of why WhatsApp is used in so many clubs. The reason is obvious. WhatsApp is a free messaging service for private individuals and has established itself as the market leader in German-speaking countries over the last 10 years. In short, everyone has WhatsApp on their smartphone and is familiar with the functions.
This makes it very convenient for you as a club to simply create a club group and add all people to it. Nothing is faster than that. No one has to register again and it's free to boot. But as is often the case, you have to pay for it somehow — in this specific case, you pay with your data.
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The following listings can be seen as neutral pros and cons regarding the use of WhatsApp. We have also tried to explain each point so that you can see what this means for you as a club.
Experts estimate that WhatsApp is installed on 95% of all smartphones in Germany. That's insane coverage. Not everyone in the club has a smartphone now, but either way, you get 80 to 85% availability among your own members.
Since it is a pure messaging service, the functionality is manageable, which makes WhatsApp very understandable overall. And yet you can send extremely extensive images, videos, locations, voice messages and texts.
For longer messages, you can switch to the web interface on the PC, which makes writing long messages efficient.
Certainly an important argument for you as a club, as the financial burden must not get out of hand.
Where there are advantages, there must also be disadvantages. However, in the case of WhatsApp for “business” club use, these can have serious consequences. This is because some of the following points are not compatible with the GDPR, which means that you are not allowed to use WhatsApp for official club announcements.
Please do not swap the following points with private use of WhatsApp, as this does not matter with regard to the GDPR. This is about the use of WhatsApp in the club for official agendas.
Your data sent to WhatsApp (whether encrypted or unencrypted) is usually outside the EU and is also processed there. In this case, processing means prepared.
WhatsApp also accesses the contact details of people in your phone book who aren't even on WhatsApp themselves. WhatsApp requires this to synchronize data to use the service. Here, too, WhatsApp is not compatible with the GDPR.
We talk a lot with clubs and hear time and again that sharing WhatsApp is not ideal for private use as well as for club agents. Mentally, everything is mixed up and it is assumed that you can be reached anytime and anywhere.
Although it is often assumed that everything on WhatsApp is encrypted and cannot be read by third parties, that is not entirely correct. This is because metadata such as telephone number, usage activity, device information is processed unencrypted by WhatsApp itself. The same applies to backups that are stored directly by device manufacturers (Apple/Samsung).
Every club that has ever tried to conduct an orderly communication or survey via WhatsApp knows that this is wishful thinking. Between serious topics, photos and interim discussions arise again and again, which make evaluation difficult.
What does that mean for you as a club?
All of these points don't mean that you can't use WhatsApp as a club. Small privately guided groups for quick communication are absolutely allowed. The emphasis is also on “private.” What is a no-go under the General Data Protection Regulation is the content and targeted communication of clubs about it. E.g. appointment management, meeting information and announcements.
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Yes, there are— even if it requires a bit of effort and you will face headwinds from your members. But keep in mind that data breaches are not a trivial offense and even clubs are not protected from penalties. In the event of gross violations and negligence, these may include amounts up to 20 million euros. This is the maximum value, but smaller amounts can and should also be avoided.
On the one hand, there is open source software, such as Mattermost, which you can host yourself (this requires your own server and technical understanding). On the other hand, direct WhatsApp alternatives, such as Signal or Threema, can also be an option. Please keep in mind that these are all software for general private use. These are not tools that were made for clubs and their communication — but they could still be suitable for your specific use.
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When the new General Data Protection Regulation came into force in 2018, we at Vereinsplaner also considered how we could offer clubs a clean and, above all, GDPR-compliant solution. We then built our own chat, which, in addition to our entire club software, should strengthen communication within the club.
Our servers are located in Germany and the chat itself can do exactly what it is intended for — write and receive messages (text and image). Because for surveys and news, there are Members' app a separate area. As a result, nothing is mixed together from the communication side.
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This article is intended to inform and make you think. We know that you have a lot to do in a club and that you can't worry about anything else. Nevertheless, we also know from our own experience that some topics deserve attention. Data protection is one such issue.
With this article, we make no claim to completeness and accuracy and recommend everyone who deals with the topic of data protection to inform and think about it. In a separate article, we have prepared important general information on data protection and a sample template for you — to the data protection contribution.
