In less than a month, WhatsApp users will be forced to make a choice — to keep using WhatsApp and share their personal data with Facebook-owned companies and third-party service providers, or to stop using the app altogether.
Either accept the new policy, or quit WhatsApp
Image credit: XDA Developers
The new privacy policy has been announced on January 4, 2021 in which your WhatsApp information such your phone number, transaction data and the way you interact with others will be shared with other Facebook companies. In WhatsApp’s blog, the company also stated that WhatsApp and other Facebook-owned companies will share user information to sell them “relevant offers and ads”.
No escape this time
This isn’t the first time WhatsApp pushed out an update like this; back in 2016, WhatsApp announced that user data will be shared to Facebook, but users could opt out if they wanted to. That’s not the case for the upcoming update — if you don’t want to share your personal data with Facebook and the other companies that they own, you’ll have no choice but to quit WhatsApp entirely.
WhatsApp convos are safe…for now
The only good news is your messages and calls are still using end-to-end encryption so you won’t have to worry about the tech giant exploiting the content of your conversations. This new change will also not affect those who live in the European Region.
