It seems the public pressure has started yielding some results now. After facing backlash over its recent privacy policy update, WhatsApp has postponed its February 8 deadline for accepting the update. “We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update,” WhatsApp said in a blog post. There’s been a lot of misinformation causing concern among WhatsApp users who flocked to alternative apps like Signal and Telegram. Business tycoons like Elon Musk, Anand Mahindra and Vijay Shekhar Sharma too endorsed rival messaging app Signal over privacy concerns.
With more and more people quitting WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messaging app has decided to clear the air over the issue. In a blog post titled, ‘Giving more time for our recent update’, the instant messaging app has informed its users that no one will have their account suspended or deleted on 8 February.
In the post, the company clarified that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see private messages.
“WhatsApp was built on a simple idea: what you share with your friends and family stays between you. This means we will always protect your conversations with end-to-end encryption so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see these private messages. It’s why we don’t keep logs of who everyone’s messaging or calling. We also can’t see your shared location and we don’t share your contacts with Facebook,” the blog post read.
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WhatsApp added that with these updates nothing is changing but “instead, the update includes new options people will have to message a business on WhatsApp, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data. While not everyone shops with a business on WhatsApp today, we think that more people will choose to do so in the future and its important people are aware of these services. This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.”
WhatsApp defers new privacy policy by 3 months
Rolling back its earlier announcement of 8 February to accept the update, WhatsApp said that the company is going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security work on. “We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We’re also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security work on WhatsApp. We’ll then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15,” the messaging app added.
The company further thanked everyone who reached out to them and has helped stop rumours.
WhatsApp helped bring end-to-end encryption to people across the world and we are committed to defending this security technology now and in the future. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us and to so many who have helped spread facts and stop rumours. We will continue to put everything we have into making WhatsApp the best way to communicate privately.
WhatsApp users had received a notification that it was preparing a new privacy policy and terms, and it reserved the right to share some user data with the Facebook app.
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