Last month, the popular messaging application WhatsApp announced that it was changing its terms and conditions and its privacy policy. In a , the company explained that users would be notified about the updated terms and they would be asked to click 鈥淎gree鈥� to accept them. Under the new terms, WhatsApp will be able to provide user data, such as phone numbers and login times, to its parent company Facebook. The social media giant bought the message app for US$19 billion in 2014.
WhatsApp explained in the blog post that they are trying to coordinate with Facebook more, so that users will have a better experience on the social network.
鈥淏y 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,鈥� the post said.
Understandably, many users have been concerned about their privacy with the introduction of these new terms and conditions. In a ruling on Tuesday, German data protection authorities, citing digital privacy concerns, have even ordered Facebook to stop collecting data from its German WhatsApp users. Facebook must also delete all of the information it has already stored according to the German regulator.
WhatsApp clarified that private messages, photos and videos sent between users would not be shared with Facebook or third parties because of the end-to-end encryption the company introduced for all of its communications in November 2014.
The app鈥檚 notification with the policy update reads:
鈥淎re you sure you don鈥檛 want to use your WhatsApp account information to improve your Facebook ads and products experiences? If you tap 鈥淒on鈥檛 Share鈥�, you won鈥檛 be able to change this in the future.鈥�
Users are then given the option of either tapping 鈥淐ancel鈥� or 鈥淒on鈥檛 Share鈥�. By clicking 鈥淐ancel鈥�, the default option, WhatsApp is given permission to share your data with its parent company.
How to opt out (Warning: You will only have 30 days after agreeing to the new conditions to change your settings):
If you didn鈥檛 receive the notification or clicked the default 鈥淐ancel鈥� option without closely reading the message, don鈥檛 fear. You can easily adjust your settings to stop sharing your information with Facebook via WhatsApp by following these simple steps.
1. Open WhatsApp
2. Go to 鈥淪ettings鈥�
3. Click 鈥淎ccount鈥�
4. Where it says 鈥淪hare my account info鈥� tap 鈥淒on鈥檛 share鈥� or move the slider so it鈥檚 no longer green if you鈥檙e using an iPhone.
5. Ta-da! You鈥檙e finished and your information will no longer be collected and shared.
With files from The Associated Press
