WhatsApp updated its privacy conditions at the beginning of the month, in a notice that also reached users in Spain. Due to these changes, the messaging application will share a greater amount of data with companies in the Facebook group, to which they belong. This change affects users outside the European Union and has caused a massive exit of users from the app, towards others such as Signal or Telegram.
The criticisms were so many and the loss of users so high, that WhatsApp backed down with the introduction of these conditions of use, although what have actually done is delay its introduction a few months. The actions of the app are generating many complaints, such as that of the government of India, very against these changes.
Privacy comparison: Signal, Telegram, Whatsapp and FacebookIf you want to determine the privacy of messaging applications, we show a comparison of Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook.
India against WhatsApp privacy changes
This same week the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technologies of India has sent a tough letter to WhatsApp. Through this letter the company is requested to permanently withdraw the new terms and that they are not simply delayed, as is the case now. The government does this because they are concerned about such changes.
The main concern in his case is that the changes in the application generate doubts and fear about the freedom of Indian citizens. In addition, they consider that a change in the terms of service that has been taken unilaterally is something unfair and unacceptable. At the moment no action has been taken, as the introduction of some law or norm against such changes, but it would not be something to be ruled out by the Indian government.
It is not the first time that the government of India have problems or complaints about WhatsApp, which is the most used means of communication in the country. This great presence and dominance of the market is something that could allow the app to make changes without too many consequences, something that the government has sought to counteract with various demands. Although recently a court in New Delhi dropped one of their lawsuits by recalling that the terms of service are voluntary and no one is required to use the app.
WhatsApp has not reacted to this letter of the government of India at the moment. It is not known what the application will finally do, because for the moment they have only postponed the introduction of these new privacy conditions for a few months, although they seek to better explain these changes. If the pressure continues and users continue to switch to apps like Signal or Telegram, it is possible that they will finally back down.
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