Amidst growing concerns, WhatsApp has delayed the implementation of its new privacy policy by 3 months.
Facing severe backlash faced massive backlash with millions of its users opting for other messaging platforms like Signal and Telegram, WhatsApp has announced that it has postponed implementation of its new privacy policy till May 15.
“We will go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15,” WhatsApp said in a statement.
The policy change of the Facebook-owned company – WhatsApp was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8.
WhatApp, which is in a damage control mode, has clarified that the update does not affect data sharing with Facebook with regard to personal conversations or other profile information and only addresses business chats in the event a user converses with a company’s customer service platform through WhatsApp.
“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,” WhatsApp said.
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
“We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms,” WhatsApp said.
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“No one will have their account suspended or deleted on Feb 8. We will make sure users have plenty of time to review and understand the terms. Rest assured we never planned to delete any accounts based on this and will not do so in the future.” WhatsApp further added.