DUBLIN: WhatsApp has cancelled the implementation of its recent privacy policy regarding data sharing. WhatsApp has withdrawn the February 8 deadline for changing the Terms of Service due to users’ concerns about privacy.
Concerns about the sharing of personal data have led users to switch to telegrams and signals. This led to the cancellation of Facebook’s ‘Data Sharing Decision’.
WhatsApp had set a deadline of 8 February for terms of service, including the sharing of data with Facebook servers. But as people flocked to other platforms, WhatsApp was forced to soften its stance.
“We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We’re also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp. We’ll then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.
The company had earlier stated that the new update would not apply to EU countries.
Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion (€15.7 billion) in 2014. The plan to increase revenue through data transfers from this messaging app has been foiled here.
Various privacy advocacy groups have come out claiming that Facebook has a poor track record in handling personal data. With this, a group of users were leaving WhatsApp.
“We will always protect your personal conversations with end-to-end encryption, so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see these private messages. This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook,” the company stated.