WhatsApp has detailed what will happen to users who do not accept its new privacy policy. From May 15, WhatsApp’s functionality will become more limited, and users will no longer send and read messages from the application. They will still be able to receive calls and notifications, but this will only be possible “for a short time.” The company says this period will last for several weeks.
WhatsApp says the New Privacy Policy won’t Go Anywhere.
WhatsApp’s new privacy policy has sparked controversy among some users. They were concerned that it was allowing the service to share their private messages with parent company Facebook. However, messages between users on WhatsApp are encrypted so that only the recipients can see the content. The new privacy policy applies to companies’ messages stored on Facebook’s servers and whose data may be used for advertising. Since 2016, WhatsApp has been sharing some personal information with Facebook, such as phone numbers.
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In response to criticism, the WhatsApp administration said it would postpone introducing a new privacy policy. It was originally planned to implement it from February 8th. Last week, WhatsApp outlined how it will explain the new privacy policy to its users. For this, a banner with explanations of the new policy will be added to the application.
However, WhatsApp says it will not delete user accounts that have not accepted the new privacy policy before May 15. Users will still be able to accept the new rules after this date. However, the service warns that it usually deletes accounts after being active for 120 days.
A source: The verge