Even though this is what WhatsApp should have done in the first place, it’s never too late. Well at least for those who are still left in the messaging app. It looks like WhatsApp has finally stopped making users accept their new Terms of Service. There is a report that users will not be punished by refusing to accept the new privacy policy and instead it will only be required if you want to message businesses that are using parent company Facebook’s cloud providers.
WABetaInfo is reporting that WhatsApp will be revising their Terms of Service for the nth time, or rather how or when users should accept or not the ToS. Originally, the plan was to require everyone to accept the privacy policy if they wanted to continue using the messaging app. Of course that backfired spectacularly with users leaving in droves and moving to competitors like Signal and Telegram. They eventually relented and said they will just limit your usage of the app if you didn’t say yes, which is still as bad as the original plan.
Now it looks like they’re backtracking again as per documents spotted by WABetaInfo. Users will not be required to accept the Terms of Service except when they want to message businesses or brands that are on the platform. You will have to agree to the terms if you’re planning to send inquiries or use the business’ WhatsApp customer service if they’re using Facebook’s cloud service. But if you’re content using the app for just messaging with friends and family, then you’re reportedly good to go.
WhatsApp had to clear up a lot of misinformation floating around about their new privacy policy. Those who were on the messaging platform but did not want parent company Facebook having access to their data refused to accept the ToS. WhatsApp insisted that only those messaging businesses that used Facebook services will be affected but by then it was too late for those who transferred messaging allegiance to the more privacy-focused competitors.
There is no official confirmation yet that accepting the new Terms of Service will be optional and users will not be “punished” for refusing to do so. Let’s wait for a press release from WhatsApp for this and hopefully this “nightmare” will finally be over.
