Over the past few days, we’ve seen an increase in new Signal and Telegram users as the supposed February 8 deadline to accept WhatsApp’s new privacy policy loomed near. Existing users of the popular messaging app did not take too kindly to the ultimatum given that if they do not accept the new updated user policy, they should just delete their account. The Facebook-owned app was also dealing with a lot of misinformation and so they have decided to extend the deadline to May 15 to clarify what accepting the policy means.
What people understood from the initial announcement of WhatsApp regarding their new privacy policy is that users have no choice but to share their data on the messaging platform to parent company Facebook. Given that there have been a lot of privacy concerns from the social media giant, people were not that enthusiastic to tap the accept button on the new policy. There has been a lot of confusion regarding this and as WhatsApp says, misinformation as well and so they are clarifying some issues.
They assured users that all messages between you and your friends and family will remain private with its end-to-end encryption. “…neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see these private messages,” they clarified. They also said they don’t keep a log of messages and calls and they are not able to see your shared location and they will not share your contacts with Facebook. And even with the update coming up, none of that will be affected.
What’s changing is that there will be new options for people to message a business on the platform. This is the data that will be shared if the business is using Facebook and WhatsApp to manage their communications with customers. But they promise to be more transparent in how they collect and use data. Because of all the clarification that needs to be made, they are now letting people review the policy and accept it or not by May 15.
Whether this extended deadline and clarification will bring back users that have jumped ship remains to be seen. It probably depends on the level of trust that consumers have for Facebook and all its other brands like WhatsApp and Instagram.
