WhatsApp has announced that it is delaying its new privacy policy rollout due to misinformation and confusion regarding its impact. The company announced in a new blog post that its end-to-end encryption and focus on privacy is not changing with the new policy.
The company has clarified once again that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook would be able to read the messages, view shared locations, or give access to Facebook for user’s contacts.
Misinformation and confusion force WhatsApp to delay privacy policy rollout
The company announced that its commitment to privacy and security remains the same as before. The new update primarily focuses on how data is collected and used when people message businesses on WhatsApp:
With these updates, none of that is changing. Instead, the update includes new options people will have to message a business on WhatsApp, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data. While not everyone shops with a business on WhatsApp today, we think that more people will choose to do so in the future and it’s important people are aware of these services. This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.
The date for WhatsApp’s new privacy policy is now being pushed from February 8 to May 15, to allow customers more time to understand what it covers, while it will do more to spread awareness and combat misinformation regarding how the new updates will impact them.
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 has been one of the most popular tools for spreading misinformation in various companies so it’s ironic that it has come to a point where its own update is facing issues against the same thing it enables.
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