WhatsApp delays new policy rollout amid ‘confusion, misinformation’
WhatApp and Facebook logos.
What you need to know:
- The Facebook-owned platform has announced that the policy update which was meant to take effect February 8th will now be put on hold for three months to give users time to fully comprehend the update.
Messaging platform WhatsApp has now suspended its plans to effect the controversial policy update over what is termed as misinformation and confusion around what the update meant.
“We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There's been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts,” said WhatsApp
The policy update which was sent to users early this month created a lot of chatter among users online with the perception that their privacy would be compromised leading a number of users to opt for alternative platforms like Telegram and Signal.
But on Tuesday this week, WhatsApp sought to dispel some of the misinformation going round by posting an FAQ page entirely dedicated to the policy update conundrum.
“We want to be clear that the policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way. Instead, this update includes changes related to messaging a business on WhatsApp, which is optional, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data,” WhatsApp wrote Tuesday.
This means your messages, calls, videos and photos remain private with end-to-end encryption and cannot be seen by WhatsApp or Facebook.
But with Facebook’s poor track record on privacy, WhatsApp might have a hard time clarifying to users what is in their new policy update.
The Facebook-owned platform has announced that the policy update which was meant to take effect February 8th will now be put on hold for three months to give users time to fully comprehend the update.
“We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8,” wrote WhatsApp on its blog.
WhatsApp says it will do “a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp” and then let people gradually review the policy at their own pace before new business options take effect on May 15.
