WhatsApp has issued a statement in a new update to its Privacy Policy, saying it will disable your account if you do not agree to share your user data with Facebook.
WhatsApp, the messaging platform owned by Facebook, has announced it will be implementing the new Privacy Policy globally by February 8, 2021.
The Facebook-owned instant messaging service is saying that WhatsApp will now be sharing user data with other Facebook companies.
Some of the data WhatsApp says it will collect from you and share with third parties include; your interactions on the platform, account registration information, transaction data, phone model, OS, IP address, mobile network, ISP, location data, battery level, signal strength, browser, language, time zone and not leaving out IMEI and other data collected based on users' consent.
“We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services and their offerings.”
WhatsApp users who refuse to accept the new Terms of service and Privacy Policy by February 8, 2021 will be barred from using the service and their profiles deactivated. After 120 days of inactivity, WhatsApp will permanently delete the accounts as part of its efforts to "maintain security, limit data retention, and protect the privacy of our users."
While most of us would all probably bid goodbye to end to end encryption on the messaging service, WhatsApp users in the European Union are however exempted from the revised terms of service and privacy policy. Due to tighter privacy legislation better known as GDPR, the WhatsApp users in 27 European countries will not have their data shared with third parties.
Meanwhile, millions of WhatsApp users including prominent celebrities worldwide are already ditching the app for other secure instant messaging apps such as Signal.
The Signal messenger provides the same robust encryption engine with a much more transparent privacy policy and terms of service. Besides the encrypted chats it provides, Signal also offers encrypted audio and video calls.
Elon Musk who recently surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest man in the world, earlier showed a strong support for Signal, when he tweeted his followers and enjoined them to boycott WhatsApp by using Signal.
Use Signal
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
Mark needs to be stopped!
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