WhatsApp started notifying users last month about its new terms of service and privacy policy, which people had to consent to after February 8 in order to continue using the app.
The unique aspect of the proposal that stoked user concern has been what user information is gathered and exchanged with Facebook, which has a mediocre track record of privacy and data security for users. A mass of users switching to competing apps such as Telegram and Signal has added to the uncertainty around the update. In the past week, Signal reached 50 million Play Store installs, and Telegram has violated the 500 million active user mark.
The privacy policy of WhatsApp notes that the user information it gathers will be shared with other Facebook businesses to help operate, provide, support, understand, improve, customize, and market our Services and their offerings. WhatsApp previously told CNN Business that these data sharing activities were not new, however.
In a blog post on January 15th announcing the delay, WhatsApp said, “We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There’s been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts.” In addition, WhatsApp accentuated that end-to-end encryption is featured on its site, which meant that neither it nor Facebook can see private messages from users. It also does not maintain track of who calls or emails users. WhatsApp said it does not see the mutual location of a person and does not share the user’s contacts with Facebook. The wider change to the policy affects people who deal with businesses on WhatsApp. On Facebook hosting services, companies that use the app to communicate with clients can opt to store logs of their conversations. However, WhatsApp informed that the conversation will distinctly be labelled.
Earlier this week the WhatsApp spokesperson gave a statement saying that the update does not alter the data sharing activities of the app with Facebook, and does not affect the individual interaction with friends or family. Also claimed that WhatsApp will remain committed to securing user’s privacy.
To clarify the policy, WhatsApp has released a FAQ provided in its privacy policy section.
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