New Delhi: WhatsApp Messenger has removed its May 15 deadline for users to accept its controversial privacy policy update. WhatsApp said that it will not be deleting accounts of users who don't accept the new terms.
The messaging app had faced severe backlash over user concerns that data was being shared with its parent company, Facebook. A WhatsApp spokesperson stated in an emailed, "No accounts will be deleted on May 15 because of this update and no one in India will lose functionality of WhatsApp either. We will follow up with reminders to people over the next several weeks."
While a "majority of users who have received the new terms of service have accepted them," some people have not had the chance to do so yet, the spokesperson added.
Read moreThe company did not clarify the reason behind the decision and did not divulge the number of users who have accepted the terms so far.
In January 2021, WhatsApp started pushing out an update on its app by asking all the users to accept the new privacy policy. Initially, the company gave a deadline of February 8, 2021, but later, it revised the deadline to May 15.
WhatsApp's privacy policy focused on addressing data sharing with Facebook, especially where business accounts were concerned. The company made it clear that it was not making any changes to its end-to-end encryption, which is present on all private chats. Nor did it plan to share any metadata or call logs or user messages with Facebook, but there was a lot of confusion around the policy.
Read moreA lot of misinformation was also spread about WhatsApp, as a lot of this was shared on the platform itself.
WhatsApp was forced to issue a detailed FAQ clarifying that user privacy was not impacted in anyway. It had explained that when users interact with business on the platform, that information could be used for marketing purposes, including possible "advertising on Facebook."
The policy read as, "Businesses you interact with using our Services may provide us with information about their interactions with you. We require each of these businesses to act in accordance with applicable law when providing any information to us. In addition, some businesses might be working with third-party service providers (which may include Facebook) to help manage their communications with their customers."
WhatsApp's clarifications did nothing to issue the outrage against the privacy policy. The result was thousands of users shifted to Telegram and Signal in India as both of the apps gained a lot of popularity during the period.
