Two years after WhatsApp, one of the biggest mobile messenger applications in the world, was acquired by Facebook, they said they will start sharing user information with the social media channel.
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On Thursday, the Facebook-owned messaging app announced it was making changes to its policy “as part of our plans to test ways for people to communicate with businesses”, suggesting the service could be used in the future by banks to notify customers of possible fraud or by airlines to report flight delays. To work in line with this guidance, WhatsApp has detailed an “opt in/out box” at the bottom of the screen next to an option to share WhatsApp account information, “to improve my Facebook ads and product experiences”.
Facebook will not sell or share the phone numbers with advertisers, according to WhatsApp.
A lot has happened in the past four years – two Olympics, for one thing, and a lot of hacks, disclosures and hair-raising privacy stories – but WhatsApp has remained unchanged.
WhatsApp said it would continue to bar the traditional ads from the service.
To reverse agreeing, go to Settings Account Share my account info in WhatsApp.
The messaging app has since then faced a backlash of users, as some who don’t want their accounts on the separate apps to be linked in anyway have chose to delete the app in favour of secure apps, such as Telegram and Signal.
One of these changes will see WhatsApp share users’ names and phone numbers with Facebook, to “offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them”.
The change could be a take-it-or-leave-it moment for WhatsApp users.
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.
The ICO, meanwhile, said it was looking into the changes.
Any organisation that breaks the Data Protection Act can be fined up to £500,000 by the ICO.
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We’ve been informed of the changes. “We are looking into this”, she added.
