Reacting to the dissatisfaction regarding the modification of the WhatsApp user agreement, in the sense of giving more information to Facebook, the administrators of the platform come with some clarifications but do not give back regarding the obligation to accept the new rules.
In a post distributed on the official Tweeter account, WhatsApp states that even under the new user agreement, the platform administrators will not have access to users’ private communications. Thus, Facebook “will continue to protect private messages using end-to-end encryption.” Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook will be able to access audio conversations, location information or document interactions with other users of the messaging platform.
These clarifications come just days after the platform began advising users to agree to the new terms of use or lose access. The new rules provide for the acceptance of data exchanges with Facebook, such as activity logs, device and connection logs, as well as location data and interactions with business accounts. A company spokesman said the change was mainly about providing “clearer and more detailed information” about how WhatsApp uses its data.
Apparently, the change in privacy policy was largely driven by Facebook’s plans for greater openness to business and online commerce. But the company reiterated that, broadly speaking, users should not worry too much about the changes made, as there is nothing dystopian or malicious behind them.
Unfortunately, the way the changes were imposed – without the option of disagreeing beyond closing the account – has raised problems around the world. And the consequences are already visible, millions of users abandoning WhatsApp for the services of rivals Signal and Telegram.
