UPDATE: The new privacy policy will not actually affect WhatsApp users who decided not to share with Facebook anymore when the option became available in 2016, the company told PCMag.
In other words, the company will continue to respect the opt-out, even if you agree to the new policy. The opt-out status must be recorded in the download your data function, which can be found on the account settings tab.
Original story:
WhatsApp indicates that you will soon have no choice but to share your data with Facebook’s operating parent if you want to continue using the service.
The messaging program has published a new privacy policy that will take effect on February 8th. “After this date, you must accept these updates to continue using WhatsApp,” the service told users via an in-app alert asking them to agree to the policy.
If you do not agree, the same warning subtly suggests that you should delete your account.
(Credit: WhatsApp)
The upcoming change will disappoint WhatsApp users who want to restrict data collection on Facebook, a business that faces repeated privacy conflicts. In 2016, WhatsApp enabled you not to share the data when it comes to ad targeting and “product experiences” for Facebook.
However, the opt-out has one condition: you must activate it within the first 30 days after logging in to the service. (Even if you did, WhatsApp may still share your account data with Facebook for the purposes of “serving and providing” the messaging service.)
The new privacy policy for WhatsApp does not provide any such opt-out. It is also unclear whether WhatsApp intends to resume data sharing for users who have previously activated the opt-out. We asked Facebook for comment, and we’ll update the story when we hear it.
Meanwhile, the new policy continues to specify what kind of information it can collect and also share with Facebook and its subsidiaries. The data includes the phone number for your WhatsApp account, profile name and photo you communicated with, and the financial transactions you made with the app.
“We share your information to help us operate, deliver, improve, understand, adapt, support and market our services,” adds WhatsApp in the privacy policy. This will include sending you friend recommendations, personalizing content and displaying relevant advertising offers in various Facebook products.
Despite the new policy, Facebook told PCMag that the policy update is primarily about business messaging. So, in practice, there is no change in the data shared with Facebook for non-business chats and account information, the social network said.
The updated policy is specifically designed to address messages about a business via WhatsApp. Facebook will offer businesses the option to use Facebook’s secure infrastructure to host WhatsApp chats if they do not want to store the messages on their own systems.
In addition, Facebook said that the choice to share the data sharing originally took place in 2016 as a one-time option. Since then, the feature does not yet exist in the app for new users. Nevertheless, the opt-out choice has been mentioned in WhatsApp’s older privacy policy for the past four years. The service is only now removing the language after launching a robust global privacy policy update, the company told PCMag.
The new policy comes as Facebook has worked to integrate WhatsApp with the rest of the company’s messaging ecosystem. However, messages sent over the service will remain encrypted end-to-end, meaning that WhatsApp or Facebook cannot read it.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Facebook’s statements.