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Much controversy has spread in recent times regarding the recent updates that the WhatsApp application intends to make to its privacy policy and the imposition of data sharing with Facebook, and a lot of information has spread, which has raised concerns among users, especially after the app condition that the user accepts the new conditions on time No later than February 8, 2021, or delete their account. Which prompted them to look for other alternatives.
WhatsApp’s competing apps saw high user participation, prompting the company to postpone the date on which users will be required to review and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for a period of three. months, and nobody’s account will be suspended or deleted on February 8.
The new updates to WhatsApp’s privacy policy do not affect the privacy of personal messages in any way – as they are protected by end-to-end encryption; This means that it cannot be read or heard by WhatsApp or Facebook – but it does include additional options for people writing to businesses through WhatsApp, to improve transparency on how the app collects and uses information. data.
In fact, what is happening is that WhatsApp is not adding anything new to the privacy policy, it is already sharing users’ metadata – with their consent – with Facebook since 2016.
WhatsApp began sharing user data and metadata with Facebook after launching a major privacy policy update in August 2016 and asking users – which reached one billion users at the time – to agree to share a large amount of data with Facebook, with a period of 30 days to unsubscribe from certain data sharing operations at least.
The move raised serious privacy concerns at the time for those who joined WhatsApp before Facebook acquired it. And at that moment; Each WhatsApp user has been informed that sharing this data with Facebook is for purposes such as: improving infrastructure, understanding the use of WhatsApp and Facebook services, securing systems and combating spam and abuse or abuse.
However, it was optional; While those who have chosen to refuse consent to data sharing before the end of September 2016 are in luck. While anyone who signed up after this date must agree to the updated terms, allowing data sharing with Facebook in order to use WhatsApp in the first place.
The app’s current policy update does not contain a field to deny consent to data sharing, but each user must consent to information sharing.
You can now check if you were one of the users who agreed to share data with Facebook in 2016, thanks to the (request account information) feature that allows you to request a report with your WhatsApp account information and settings and extract this report as a file.
How to request your WhatsApp account information:
Access the WhatsApp app on your phone.
• Click on the three dots icon in the upper right corner, then click on the Settings option.
• Click on the “Account” option.
• Click on the option (request account information).
• Click on the “Report Request” option, and the status will change on the screen to display “Request Sent”.
• The report is usually available after about three days from the date you requested it. When the report is ready, you will receive a notification from WhatsApp on your phone that says, “Your account information report has become available.” You will have one month to download it, before having to restart the request.
• After receipt of the report; Click on the option “Download the report”; A Zip file is downloaded to your phone that includes HTML and JSON files.
• open the report; Then find the section titled (Terms of Service), which includes a list of “Terms of Service for 2016” indicating whether or not you agree to share data.
• If you find the word “No” next to the (unsubscribe from data sharing) field, WhatsApp has already been sharing your data with Facebook since 2016. If the word “Yes” appears, you have not accepted to share the data at that time.
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