Next Saturday the conditions of use and the privacy policy of the popular instant messaging service will be updated: if we do not immediately accept the new conditions, the functions of the application will be progressively limited and after a few weeks it will no longer be possible to use it . that. But why is there so much talk?
There is a date circled in red on the calendar for those who use WhatsApp. On May 15, the conditions of use and the privacy policy of WhatsApp will be updated “definitively”: if we do not immediately accept the new conditions, the functions of the application will be progressively limited and after a few weeks it will no longer be possible to use it .
What happens on WhatsApp on May 15
If any user has not yet accepted the “controversial” new WhatsApp terms of service for next Saturday, the application will begin to disable the functions. In practice, the “pop-up” screen asking users to agree to the terms of service set by Facebook, WhatsApp’s parent company, will become permanent, and users will have to click to use WhatsApp directly. But nothing drastic and immediate, unlike what was said until recently. Users will still be able to interact with the application in various ways for “a few weeks” (it is not known how many), such as receiving calls, answering messages or answering missed calls.
“After a few weeks of limited functionality, you will not be able to receive incoming calls or notifications and WhatsApp will stop sending messages and calls to your phone,” the company explained. At that point, users will have to choose: accept the new terms or stop using WhatsApp and resort to one of the many alternatives. This softer approach is unusual for Facebook, which has historically enforced new terms of service by putting up a consent screen that cannot be bypassed on day one. Back in January, the company tried for the first time to update its terms of service.
The tech giant is proceeding with leaden feet this time. The reason? Millions of users downloaded alternative apps like Signal and Telegram after WhatsApp announced that the new terms would go into effect on February 8. The viral messages had quickly spread in alarmist chains, according to which the new agreement would give WhatsApp the right to read users’ messages and deliver the information to Facebook. So WhatsApp was forced to delay the update and launch an ad campaign explaining that the new deal was simply focused on a new set of features that allowed users to message businesses on the app. “There is no change in our data sharing with Facebook anywhere in the world,” said Niamh Sweeney, WhatsApp’s director of public affairs for Europe, Middle East and Africa over and over again.
In Germany, the Hamburg Privacy Authority has issued a three-month emergency ban on the entry into force of the new terms, arguing that they are opaque, inconsistent and too broad. Facebook said the ban was “based on a fundamental misunderstanding” of the update.
WhatsApp, the real news of Saturday, May 15
Now the countdown is a reality and in a maximum of 72 hours it will be necessary to decide whether to continue using WhatsApp, accepting the new policies, or migrate to new platforms such as Signal, Telegram, Wickr, Threema, Wire and Confide.
It should be noted that, in addition to controversies and doubts about privacy, it is the Business version of WhatsApp, which is mainly used by companies to contact their customers, to see some important changes as of May 15. Although with various limitations, companies will be able to use the data contained in the conversations for marketing purposes, which will also affect ads on Facebook and other social networks.
On the other hand, as has emerged so far, there are no great news for the privacy of users who use the standard version of the application: specifically, the company announces that chats will continue to be protected by a robust endpoint. -Cryption algorithm. to-end that prevents a third party (including WhatsApp) from intercepting content (such as shared files and messages exchanged in a chat).
No accounts will be removed on May 15 and no features will be lost as a result of this update. What happens if you decide to delete your WhatsApp account instead? If someone proceeds to delete your WhatsApp account, you should know that it is an irreversible process. After deletion, the backup and all message history will be permanently deleted.
Already today Facebook and WhatsApp share some data of their users, such as the telephone number provided during registration and some information on the technological device used (such as the version of the operating system and the application and the monitoring of the different consents granted over the years) But WhatsApp does not share your personal information with Facebook to improve your experiences with Facebook products or to provide you with more relevant advertising experiences on Facebook.
