WhatsApp’s plans to share user data with Facebook are to be investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK.
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If you really don’t want WhatsApp to share your info with Facebook, you can still opt out.
The company re-iterated its commitment to privacy and said users who had the latest version of the app could rest assured their messages have the protection of end-to-end encryption, meaning no one else can access them. Rather, the FTC expects companies to familiarize themselves with its rules and act accordingly.
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. “Even as we coordinate more with Facebook in the months ahead, your encrypted messages stay private and no one else can read them”. The FTC may have to rule on whether the small box is a fair opt-out procedure.
Ever since Facebook bought messaging service WhatsApp in 2014, there’s been a voluntary wall of separation between the two, with WhatsApp pledging not to share personal info with its new parent. Since the acquisition, Facebook has yet to generate any real revenue from 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.
Users’ phone numbers will not be displayed on Facebook, and messages will not be shared, WhatsApp pointed out. It also says Facebook won’t post phone numbers online or give them out to anyone.
“And by connecting your phone number with Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them”, the blog post said.
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While organisations did not need to get prior permission from the ICO to change how they handle personal data, any change had to remain within data protection laws, she added.
