WhatsApp New Policy 2021- What Does It Mean?
Do you want to know about the WhatsApp New Policy? Want to know about the new WhatsApp Privacy Policy 2021? Core Techies, the best Android and iOS mobile application development company bring to you, in short, some of the major changes introduced in the WhatsApp new policy. Here we have also highlighted how it will affect WhatsApp users. Come let us together explore everything about the new WhatsApp privacy policy 2021.
The instant-messaging application platform WhatsApp left the users’ buzzing with a notification to inform them about the platform new policies. The notification mentioned that WhatsApp is updating its terms and privacy policy which will come into effect from February 8th 2021. Hence, if the users want to continue using WhatsApp they need to accept the terms and conditions before the said date.
The WhatsApp is the most used messaging platform globally for personal and professional purposes. Therefore, the users are confused about how much secured will be their data if they continue to use Whatsapp as their main communication platform. Hence, Core Techies have highlighted the WhatsApp privacy changes for every user.
Sharing of Data with the parent company- Facebook:
The new privacy policy suggests that it has not made any new changes related to the data-sharing practices with its parent company-Facebook. It further informs the users that WhatsApp will continue to treat the personal data in the same manner as it used to before the recent privacy policy. Therefore, the WhatsApp personal chats remain end-to-end encrypted and no third party can read the messages. This assures that data-sharing practices will not affect the ways people communicate privately with friends and family.
Already Shared Information with Parent Company- Facebook
There is no change in the data-sharing practices when we specifically talk about Facebook. The instant- messaging application will continue to share the same things it used to share with Facebook and its other companies. The following are the information WhatsApp shares with Facebook:
- Account Registration Information
- Phone Number
- Transaction Data- as WhatsApp can be now used to make payments in India.
- Information Related to Services
- Interaction Information with others and businesses.
- Mobile Device Information
- IP Address
Hardware Information:
The new WhatsApp policy informs the users that it will collect some hardware information once they agree to the recent terms and conditions rolled out by the company. The hardware information which the WhatsApp collects from all the users include the following-
- Battery Level
- Signal Strength
- Application Version
- Browser Information
- Connection Information- phone number, Mobile Operator or ISP.
- IP Address
- Identifiers that unique to Facebook’s Company Products (Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook, Facebook Messanger etc) associated with the same device or accounts.
Place- Where Facebook Stores the Data:
The new privacy policy further suggests that it uses Facebook’s global infrastructure and the data centres based in the US to collect the data of the users. Moreover, it also highlights that the company can transfer data to the US or to other parts where Facebook’s affiliate companies are based. Therefore, the privacy policy of the WhatsApp has not mentioned anything about the ‘other places.’ Further, the instant-messaging app claims that it keeps the data for 30 days and deletes it as soon as it gets to the end-user.
Access to Location Data:
Under the new policy, WhatsApp has made it clear that the users will have to grant permissions for certain features if they accept the privacy policy. One of those that directly get affected by the new terms and conditions is the ability to share the location with other users in chat if they don’t give access to the location data. For instance, when the users provide location details to the contacts, view locations nearby or location others have shared with you.
Business Profile Data Access:
The new WhatsApp privacy policy clears that while the users interact with business profiles, they tend to directly give access to the data to multiple people. In other words, the data of the users will be visible to several people in the business. Additionally, the instant-messaging application mentions that a business may give third-party service providers access to the communication details. Further, the third-party can store, send, read and process them for the business. Hence, the data of the users can easily be accessed by third-party service providers.
Delete Account is ‘No Solution’
Lastly, the instant messaging platform new privacy policy 2021 states that deleting your account will not suffice as it will not affect your information related to the groups you created or the information other users have related to you such as ‘copy of the message.’ Hence, it further stresses on the fact the users need to be mindful while deleting the account. Therefore, the users need to use in-app delete feature to delete the account. This is because if the users fail to use the feature, the user’s data will be stored with the application for a longer time.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we can say that when you are not paying for a product then you are the product, Facebook’s mantra has always been around this. With that, all the users should be cautious about how they interact and use any digital platform. Hence, we leave it on you to decide whether you want to use the WhatsApp or you should switch to some other similar platforms. If you want to know some better alternatives, let us know In the comment section below, we will make a dedicated article for that.
And if you are a business owner who is using Whatsapp for business and for team communication then you can connect with us for having better solutions so that you can make a wise and informed decision. We have helped multiple enterprises and startups with ECC based end to end encrypted messaging and calling platforms.
