WHATSAPP is changing its privacy policy and if you don’t agree to the changes your account will no longer work.
The news rules apply to all users but people outside the UK and the EU will also need to agree to more data sharing with Facebook.
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If affected users don’t accept the new privacy terms that pop up on their screens then they’ll lose access to their WhatsApp account from February 8.
Many people have seen the new WhatsApp terms popup already and clicked ‘agree’ without fully reading the terms.
Over the past 24 hours WhatsApp users have received a notice which tells them of the changes with the option of clicking ‘agree’ or ‘not now’.
The UK and EU pop up doesn’t mention the Facebook data sharing changes.
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WhatsApp has also made how it handles and collects data more transparent and new sections in its privacy policy include ‘Transactions and Payments Data’ and how it handles ‘Location Information’.
The WhatsApp website has a section that answers ‘What information does WhatsApp share with the Facebook Companies?’.
It states: “WhatsApp currently shares certain categories of information with Facebook Companies.
“The information we share with the other Facebook Companies. includes your account registration information (such as your phone number), transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address, and may include other information identified in the Privacy Policy section entitled ‘Information We Collect’ or obtained upon notice to you or based on your consent.”
The updated policy also suggests that you may receive marketing material about Facebook Companies.
The move could be another step towards Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram eventually integrating as one.
A WhatsApp spokesperson told us: “There are no changes to WhatsApp’s data sharing practices in the European region (including UK) arising from the updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, it is still the case that WhatsApp does not share European region WhatsApp user data with Facebook for the purpose of Facebook using this data to improve its products or advertisements.”
WhatsApp – a quick history
Here’s what you need to know…
- WhatsApp was created in 2009 by computer programmers Brian Acton and Jan Koum – former employees of Yahoo
- It’s one of the most popular messaging services in the world
- Koum came up with the name WhatsApp because it sounded like “what’s up”
- After a number of tweaks the app was released with a messaging component in June 2009, with 250,000 active users
- It was originally free but switched to a paid service to avoid growing too fast. Then in 2016, it became free again for all users
- Facebook bought WhatsApp Inc in February 2014 for $19.3billion (£14.64bn)
- The app is particularly popular because all messages are encrypted during transit, shutting out snoopers
- As of 2020, WhatsApp has over 2billion users globally
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What do you think of the new WhatsApp data change? Let us know in the comments…
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
