New Whatsapp Privacy Policy: What It Really Means For Users

For the very first time in four years and since being acquired byFacebook, WhatsApp, the world's most popular messaging platform is updating its terms and conditions , as well as its privacypolicy. Part of this update includes WhatsApp sharing your accountinformation with Facebook to, among other things, provide bettertargeted ads. I know you'll be wondering what part of your information is beingshared to FacebookQ - What information is being shared with Facebook'The updated WhatsApp FAQ page says that the phone number youused to sign up for WhatsApp with will be shared, as well as thelast time you used the service.Thanks to end-to-end encryption, Facebook will not be able to seeyourmessages, photos or other media you share. Only you and thepersonyou send messages to will ever be able to see that information.Andany information that is shared by WhatsApp will not be publiclyvisibleto anyone using Facebook. Meaning, if WhatsApp shares yourphonenumber with Facebook, it won't fill in the phone number field onyourprofile and make it visible to anyone.Another question is why your information is being shared.The FAQ page says sharing your information with Facebook willhelpthe two companies "coordinate more." The claim is that it will helpthem "fight spam and abuse" more efficiently, as well as and thisislikely the bigger and more feasible reason "improve yourexperienceswithin [Facebook] services" through targeted ads.Will I start seeing ads in WhatsApp'No. Well, at least not in the usual banner ad style. However,WhatsApp is exploring ways to allow businesses to communicatewith customers. In the same way that you can interact with your bankvia SMS to check account balances or pay your cell phone bill with atextmessage, WhatsApp wants you to receive information frombusiness,such as receipts for flight information.The good news is, WhatsApp is (for now) continuing to put you incontrol. It says, "We do not want you to have a spammyexperience; aswith all of your messages, you can manage these communications,and we will honor the choices you make."Time will tell if being part of Facebook will alter their stance onthis, as well.Well. Certainly, I've got a lot of contacts on my whatsapp and I geta lot of messages daily so the idea of Ads on Whatsapp "hell no". Ifyou feel the same way about the new Whatsapp privacy policy,Fortunately, you can opt out and remove yourself from the wholesituation very easily. Here's how:Open WhatsApp on your phone.On Android , tap the action overflow button in the upper rightcorner and select Settings . On iOS, tap the Settings tab in thelower right corner.Select Account .Tap the check mark to the right of Share my account info .To disable the feature, tap Don't Share ..The pop-up that appears reads, "If you tap 'Don't Share', you won'tbeable to change this in the future." And they mean it.On the bright side, your account information and app usage won'tbeshared with Facebook anymore. Though, it doesn't say whether ithasalready shared your information or whether, if shared, thatinformationwill be deleted.
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