WHATSAPP POSTPONES NEW TERMS OF SERVICE

Fri 15 January 2021:

WhatsApp said on Friday that it won’t enforce the planned update to its data-sharing policy until May 15, weeks after news about the new terms created confusion among its users, exposed the Facebook app to a potential lawsuit, triggered a nationwide investigation and drove tens of millions of its loyal fans to explore alternative messaging apps, Techcrunch reported

Users of the popular app have been scrambling to determine risks to their privacy ever since WhatsApp announced new terms of service. It had previously stated that anyone who does not accept the new terms will not be able to use the app after February 8.

In its message today, WhatsApp seemed to have postponed acting on the above deadline.

Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We’re still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with @WhatsApp users. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May – https://t.co/H3DeSS0QfO

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021

“Thank you to everyone who’s reached out. We’re still working to counter any confusion by communicating directly with WhatsApp users.

“No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8 and we’ll be moving back our business plans until after May,” it wrote.

WhatsApp added that it will give plenty of time to users for them to review and understand the terms of use.

“Rest assured we never planned to delete any accounts based on this and will not do so in the future.”

Through an in-app alert, WhatsApp had asked users earlier this month to agree to new terms of conditions that grants the app the consent to share with Facebook some personal data about them, such as their phone number and location. Users will have to agree to these terms by February 8 if they wish to continue using the app, the alert said.

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