WhatsApp has delayed its new privacy policy amid confusion about its data-sharing practices with Facebook, its parent company.
The policy was originally supposed to go into effect on February 8th, and users had to agree to it in order to continue using the app. This date has now been extended to May 15th.
“We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There’s been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts,” the company outlined in a blog post.
WhatsApp has reiterated that conversations are protected with end-to-end encryption and that it doesn’t keep logs of who users are messaging or calling. It also notes that it can’t see shared locations and doesn’t share contacts with Facebook.
“With these updates, none of that is changing. Instead, the update includes new options people will have to message a business on WhatsApp, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data,” the blog post reads.
WhatsApp notes that this update doesn’t expand its ability to share data with Facebook. The company says it’s going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security work on the app.
Amid the controversy, rival apps Telegram and Signal have seen significant increases in downloads as WhatsApp users are looking to find an alternative.
Source: WhatsApp
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