WhatsApp users are urging others to opt out of new privacy rules which will see data shared with Facebook to help target advertising.
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WhatsApp announced Thursday that it will be sharing more data, including phone numbers, with Facebook, which bought WhatsApp two years ago for almost $20 billion.
“When you and the people you message are using the latest version of WhatsApp, your messages are encrypted by default, which means you’re the only people who can read them”, the company states.
The updated Terms And Conditions will share phone numbers of users with which the account has been verified along with the last time the service was used. WhatsApp breaks down how to do this on their website.
WhatsApp said it’s interested in seeing how businesses can use its app to contact customers.
If you do not have a Facebook account, WhatsApp will not require users to create one.
The Information Commission’s Office (ICO) said while some users may be concerned by the lack of control provided by the updated privacy policy, others may consider it a positive. You can find the account tab that exists in the app settings menu and uncheck the box that says “Share my account info” to stop feeding Facebook with your data.
“As we announced earlier this year, we want to explore ways for you to communicate with businesses that matter to you too, while still giving you an experience without third-party banner ads and spam”, WhatsApp’s blog post today read. However, WhatsApp say encrypted messages exchanged by its billion plus users will stay private.
According to the blog post, these changes are a result of WhatsApp’s desire to allows businesses to directly communicate with its more than 1 billion users.
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Thankfully, users will be able to opt out of sharing information with Facebook “for any sort of products or ad experiences”, although their phone numbers will still be shared between both services. But in order to test these features, it first needs to update its privacy policy.
