WhatsApp postpones the introduction of new privacy rules
WhatsApp is postponing the rollout of its new privacy policy by three months following criticism and a user exodus. Previously, users were required to agree to the new terms by February 8 if they wanted to continue using the Facebook-owned messaging service.
Now the new privacy policy will not apply until May 15, WhatsApp announced on Friday (local time). According to WhatsApp, the changes are primarily about creating better opportunities for communication with companies. The end-to-end encryption, with which chat content is only visible in plain text for the participating users, but not even for WhatsApp itself, will not be shaken.
Growth in the competition
It is also not about an extended data forwarding to Facebook. Outside the EU, WhatsApp user data flows to Facebook for advertising purposes or to improve products - but already since 2016.
WhatsApp is the world's most successful chat service with more than two billion users, followed by Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion). In the past few weeks, WhatsApp rivals such as TelegramThe company also reported strong growth in the number of new customers - because users left WhatsApp after the announcement of the new privacy policy. WhatsApp complained about the spread of false information about it, which they want to clear up more by mid-May. (SDA)
