Right from the day WhatsApp announced its changes in Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, it has been facing a lot of backlash. Users on Social media have been expressing their disapproval and some are even recommending alternatives. As a result, rivals like Telegram and Signal have witnessed millions of downloads recently. To end this, WhatsApp has now given an explanation and postponed the cut-off date.
WhatsApp tweeted that it’s working constantly to counter the confusion on the privacy of users’ messages and Account suspension. Through a blog post, it has now announced the extension of the cut-off date to May 15, 2021. Also, WhatsApp clearly says that it won’t delete anyone’s account on February 8 which was earlier the last date for users to accept the new update changes.
Speaking of which, in case you are unaware, WhatsApp recently updated its privacy policy and terms of service. Accordingly, it added new sections about business chats and sharing of data with other Facebook companies.
However, People started spreading the news that WhatsApp gets access to Private messages and locations. To this, WhatsApp now says that they are protected by end-to-end encryption and neither Facebook/WhatsApp can access it.
Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We're still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with @WhatsApp users. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May – https://t.co/H3DeSS0QfO
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021
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Through the blog post, WhatsApp also says that it will continue to follow the things that it did before as shown below:
- No access to users’ private messages by WhatsApp/Facebook
- WhatsApp doesn’t store logs of Messages/call info.
- WhatsApp/Facebook can’t see your Shared Location.
- WhatsApp doesn’t share your contacts with Facebook.
- WhatsApp Groups are Private.
- You can make your messages disappear(via Disappearing Messages)
- Locally Download your data anytime.
That said, WhatsApp still stands by the update changes regarding Businesses, Payments, and concurrently Facebook’s help. Precisely, some businesses that use Facebook’s hosting services might run on WhatsApp too. WhatsApp will label them separately so you can make your choice as to whether chat with them/not.
It further mentions clauses about Discovering businesses from Facebook/Instagram Ads and using their shopping experiences on WhatsApp. Simply put, the update excludes sharing info like personal messages, contacts & location to Facebook.
Nevertheless, WhatsApp is now moving back the date for accepting the terms. During this period, we can expect more explanation about privacy in future before the business options go live on May 15.
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