WhatsApp found themselves in the spotlight recently due to its new terms and privacy policy update that users must agree to by 8th February 2021. After public outcry and calls to switch to other messaging platforms such as Signal and Telegram, WhatsApp has just announced that it’s delaying its new update by slightly more than 3 months.
The new WhatsApp terms mainly touches on its integration with Facebook and bringing the WhatsApp experience to other Facebook Company Products. When compared to Signal and Telegram, WhatsApp does collect significantly more data according to the privacy section of its app listing on Apple’s AppStore. Some parties alleged that the service is sharing personal data to the social media giant but the messaging app insists that all private messages and conversations will remain private and it won’t be shared with anyone.
According to WhatsApp’s recently statement, they have heard from so many people about how much confusion there is around their recent update. It added that there’s a lot of misinformation causing concern and they want to help everyone to understand its principles and facts.
It clarifies that its continues to protect your personal conversations with end-to-end encryption so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook will be able to see your messages. It also said they do not keep a log of everyone’s message and call history. On top of that, they can’t see your shared location and they do not share your contacts with Facebook.
To give ample time for people to understand the changes, WhatsApp is pushing back its date for people to accept the terms from 8th February to 15th May 2021. In the mean time, they will beef up its efforts to clear up the misinformation about its privacy and security.
WhatsApp says the new updates will allow users to enjoy new features to connect to businesses on WhatsApp. It expects more people will be able to shop with businesses through WhatsApp in the near future. The world’s biggest messaging app also said they will continue to provide further transparency about how they collect and use data.
