Ritik Gupta
Under flame over its new privacy policy update, WhatsApp on Friday declared openly that it had delayed its planned privacy update.
WhatsApp Friday declared openly that it had delayed its planned privacy update, allowing users more duration to evaluate the policy and approve the app’s terms and conditions. The aftermath of delaying the privacy update has been brought on account of “misinformation causing concern” among people, the company said in a blog post.
1.’We never planned to delete any accounts…’
“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,” the blog post read.
“We can’t see your private messages or hear your calls, and neither can Facebook,” WhatsApp asserted in an earlier blog post.
As per Whatsapp, “We don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging or calling. We can’t see your shared location and neither can Facebook. Location data along with message contents is encrypted end-to-end.”
Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We're still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with @WhatsApp users. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May – https://t.co/H3DeSS0QfO
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021
We will make sure users have plenty of time to review and understand the terms. Rest assured we never planned to delete any accounts based on this and will not do so in the future.
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021
2.Open to responding to any inquiries from the Government!
WhatsApp on Thursday asserted it is available to reply to any suspicions from the Indian government and is conscious that the company will have to “compete” for users’ beliefs with adversaries such as Signal. In a conference with PTI, WhatsApp Global Head Will Cathcart asserted that Whatsapp continues to be devoted to the privacy of users across India and will go on to elucidate to users that their information is end-to-end encrypted.
Competitor messaging platforms such as Signal and Telegram encountered an incredible surge in downloads soon after WhatsApp yearned users’ approval to its updated privacy policy to share some data with Facebook.
“We know we have to compete for users’ trust when it comes to privacy, and that’s very good for the world. People should have choices in how they communicate and feel confident that no one else can see their chats,” Cathcart said.
