- WhatsApp has issued new info clarifying its newest privateness coverage modifications.
- The platform claims that the coverage replace doesn’t have an effect on personal messages.
- Its newest statements, nevertheless, are complicated and contradictory to its coverage phrases.
WhatsApp is now in harm management mode within the wake of widespread criticism from customers over its updated privacy policy. The messaging service has taken to Twitter to “address some rumors and be 100% clear” that it protects personal messages.
“We want to be clear that the policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way. Instead, this update includes changes related to messaging a business on WhatsApp, which is optional, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data,” WhatsApp writes in its up to date FAQ part.
The Facebook-owned service has additionally printed an infographic clarifying the way it handles personal messages. It claims that it can’t see messages exchanged between customers or hear their calls. Facebook additionally doesn’t have entry to this information. It additional clarifies that it doesn’t preserve logs and doesn’t see your shared location, contacts, or group messages.
WhatsApp privateness coverage: Digging deeper
WhatsApp’s newest clarifications don’t actually encourage confidence as a result of the knowledge that it mechanically collects and shares with Facebook and third-party suppliers contains many private identifiers. Its privacy policy clearly states that info assortment occurs throughout the board and never only for customers interacting with companies on WhatsApp.
As for the knowledge WhatsApp shares with Facebook firms, its FAQ section nonetheless states the next:
WhatsApp presently shares sure classes of data with Facebook Companies. The info we share with the opposite Facebook Companies contains your account registration info (equivalent to your cellphone quantity), transaction information, service-related info, info on the way you work together with others (together with companies) when utilizing our Services, cellular machine info, your IP tackle, and will embrace different info recognized within the Privacy Policy part entitled ‘Information We Collect’ or obtained upon discover to you or based mostly in your consent.
Notice how interplay with companies is talked about as an inclusion to all interactions, not as a standalone like the corporate is now claiming in its newest public messaging.
Also, saying one thing like “we cannot see your shared location and neither can Facebook” appears improper on WhatsApp’s half as its coverage clearly states “you cannot share your location with your contacts if you do not permit us (WhatsApp) to collect your location data from your device.” Besides, we’ve already seen how firms have many different methods of determining our precise location.
All in all, it appears to be like like WhatsApp is attempting its finest to retain customers who seem to be looking to different messaging platforms like Signal and Telegram within the wake of the brand new coverage modifications.
