WhatsApp recently updated its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service to mandate data-sharing with all companies in the Facebook family.
After massive confusion, WhatsApp on Friday announced a three-month delay of a new privacy policy originally slated to go into effect on February 8th.
The update does not in fact affect data sharing with Facebook with regard to user chats or other profile information; WhatsApp has repeatedly clarified that its update addresses business chats in the event a user converses with a company’s customer service platform through WhatsApp.
“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,” the company wrote in a new blog post.
On January 10, WhatsApp also shared a new infographic highlighting WhatsApp cannot see private messages or hear calls and, therefore, neither can Facebook.
It also reveals that WhatsApp doesn’t keep logs of who users are messaging or calling, it can’t see the shared location, doesn’t share contact info with Facebook, and that WhatsApp groups remain private.
WhatsApp says no one will be losing access to the app if they didn’t agree to the new terms of service agreement that communicated the changes earlier this month. “We’re also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works 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 company says.
