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WhatsApp will soon start sharing your data with Facebook as a condition of using the app. This completes a U-turn that began when Facebook first acquired the app in 2014.
Back then, WhatsApp assured users that their data would be kept private and not shared with Facebook …
Context
Shortly after selling WhatsApp to Facebook for $ 19 billion, the messaging app reassured in a blog post.
There has also been a lot of inaccurate and reckless information circulating about what our future partnership would mean for WhatsApp user data and privacy. I would like to set the record straight […]
Respect for your privacy is coded in our DNA, and we’ve built WhatsApp around the goal of knowing as little as possible about you. […] If partnering with Facebook meant we had to change our values, we wouldn’t have done it. Instead, we are forming a partnership that would allow us to continue to operate independently and autonomously. Our core values and beliefs will not change. Our principles will not change.
The first part of the U-turn came in 2016, when WhatsApp started sharing data with Facebook by default.
By coordinating more with Facebook, we will be able to do things like track basic metrics on how often people use our services and better combat spam on WhatsApp. And by connecting your phone number to Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them.
Back then, however, existing users could opt out of data sharing.
If you are an existing user, you can choose not to share your WhatsApp account information with Facebook to improve your Facebook ads and products. Existing users who agree to our updated terms and privacy policy will have an additional 30 days to make this choice by going to Settings> Account.
WhatsApp to share your data with Facebook as a condition of use
Upcoming changes to the privacy policy of the messaging app remove the opt-out option as indicated by XDA Developers.
WhatsApp users today receive an in-app notice regarding the new terms and privacy policy for the service. The notice, as you can see in the attached screenshot, talks about three key updates that affect the way WhatsApp handles your data, how businesses can use services hosted by Facebook to store and manage their WhatsApp chats, and how WhatsApp will soon partner with Facebook to deliver deeper integrations across all of the latter’s products. It further reveals that these changes will take effect on February 8 and that users will have no choice but to accept these changes if they wish to continue using WhatsApp.
Among other things, your data will now be used to deliver personalized advertisements.
Improve their services and your experiences using them, such as making suggestions for you (for example, friends or group relations, or interesting content), personalizing features and content, helping you with purchases and transactions , and display relevant offers and advertisements through the products of the Facebook company.
You can read all the details here.
However, WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption for all messages – text, voice, and video – and therefore cannot see or use the content of your messages or calls. Update: The new privacy policy also does not apply in Europe due to stricter privacy legislation.
The news follows an article highlighting the vastly different amounts of information tied to user identities across four messaging apps: Signal, iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. This was revealed by Apple, requiring apps to disclose the personal data they collect and specify how it is used.
Photo: Rachit Tank on Unsplash
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