WhatsApp users might fear the new update and they have every right to feel so.
WhatsApp brings out the new update which received a lot of backlash from its users. In its recent update, the users will have to accept the terms and conditions. Accounts of those who don’t accept the terms won’t be able to access their app. However, they will receive messages and calls but won’t be able to revert them. Apart from that, they can export the chat history from their devices and download the account history. These accounts will be termed inactive. The period of inactivity will last 120 days. The company has issued this statement in their FAQ option.
Due to these negative remarks, WhatsApp has postponed its update to 15th May. Last month, it got a lot of heat for sharing user’s private information to the parent company Facebook. Due to this, users have switched to other messaging apps like Telegram and Signal. The reason behind this is that the app will be used for business purposes and targeting ads. For them to do this, the customer’s information will be shared with Facebook. Also, WhatsApp has shared the user’s IP address for the transaction. European countries with strong privacy laws do not affect WhatsApp’s mishap. However, that’s not the case in India as there are no laws for protecting private data. In effect, the government of India is creating its home base app similar to WhatsApp like Sandes.
The social networking site has clarified that the policy will be reviewed and changed to some extent. The company has written in its blog post stating that this was the misinformation being spread around to create confusion among people.
According to TechCrunch, an American tech news portal, WhatsApp has granted permission to Facebook to access or share the data of a user’s phone number, location and so on. Its latest update will help in the more effective transaction of payment by allowing targeted ads. This will boost the small business by merging it with other platforms.
In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion intending to expand the network connecting users with e-commerce.
