WhatsApp issues clarification over new privacy policy, says individual chats to remain ‘private’ even after update

WhatsApp asserted that neither WhatsApp

nor Facebook could see the messages users sent to each other, and they

could not hear the conversations over calls either. Apart from that, the

platform also did not maintain a record of who was messaging or calling

whom, and the groups on WhatsApp were also private. Moreover, the

location shared by users could also not be accessed by WhatsApp or

Facebook. The instant messaging platform also said that it did not share

anyone’s contacts with Facebook. For additional security, it said users

could also set their messages to disappear, and they could download

their own data.WhatsApp issues clarification over new privacy policy, says individual chats to remain ‘private’ even after updateBy: Bulbul Dhawan | January 12, 2021 12:36 PMThis

clarification has come amidst major uproar over the privacy policy

which is set to come into effect on February 8 this year.The contacts that WhatsApp accesses are only meant to provide users with a quick messaging platform, it said.WhatsApp Privacy Policy:

Since last week, instant messaging platform WhatsApp has been the

recipient of heavy criticism due to its updated privacy policy, which it

has mandated all users to agree to. Due to this lack of option and the

removal of the points indicating user discretion in the sharing of data

with parent company Facebook, people have been giving a tough time to

the messaging platform, with some even switching to alternative

platforms. However, now, WhatsApp has issued a clarification regarding

the new policy, saying that individual chats would not be affected by

the changes whatsoever.In a couple of posts shared on

microblogging site Twitter, the Facebook-owned platform said that the

privacy policy update would in no way affect privacy of the users’ chats

with their friends and family, as the messages sent on chats would

continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption.Related NewsFacebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix underperform NASDAQ in first trading week of 2021WhatsApp ‘updates’ privacy policy to share user data with Facebook, Elon Musk says ‘use’ Signal insteadWhatsApp

asserted that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook could see the messages

users sent to each other, and they could not hear the conversations over

calls either. Apart from that, the platform also did not maintain a

record of who was messaging or calling whom, and the groups on WhatsApp

were also private. Moreover, the location shared by users could also not

be accessed by WhatsApp or Facebook. The instant messaging platform

also said that it did not share anyone’s contacts with Facebook. For

additional security, it said users could also set their messages to

disappear, and they could download their own data.In

a newly released FAQ page, the platform said that the recent update was

rather related to the managing of businesses on WhatsApp, which is an

optional feature businesses can use as it offers some additional

features that aid in smooth running of business-to-customer

communication.Among the clarifications on the FAQ pages, the

platform repeatedly highlighted that all messages sent on private

individual or group chats are protected by end-to-end encryption,

including the location that one user shares with another. Apart from

that, it also asserted that while telecom service providers do maintain

logs of calls and messages, WhatsApp chooses not to do so for its 2

billion users, because it believes that would be a huge privacy and

security risk.The contacts that WhatsApp accesses are only meant

to provide users with a quick messaging platform, it said, and WhatsApp

did not share these contacts with Facebook.This clarification has

come amidst major uproar over the privacy policy which is set to come

into effect on February 8 this year.As for businesses, the

platform said that users’ interactions with the business accounts on

WhatsApp, which is clearly indicated in the chat, can be used by the

businesses to improve their own marketing, and businesses can also

choose to share this information with Facebook. This means the users’

chats with businesses regarding any queries, their shopping activities,

their purchase receipts, and interaction with businesses across

Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram could be collected by Facebook to

personalise ads and shopping experiences and product displays across the

three Facebook-owned social media platforms, WhatsApp said.