Whatsapp said it's postponing the controversial update of its terms and conditions until 15 May. The company said users are no longer forced to accept the update by 8 February.
The update started earlier this month led to many users fleeing to rival messaging services like Telegram or Signal, amid concerns WhatsApp was starting to share more personal data with its parent company Facebook. The company claims the update doesn't expand its ability to share data with Facebook and is about allowing users to communicate more easily with businesses on the messaging platform. The confusion over the update has led at least one regulator to start investigating and others to suspend the service.
WhatsApp said its update was surrounded by misinformation and tried to clarify the situation with a page of FAQs. The company noted that it always protects personal conversations with encryption, so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see end-users' private messages. It also said it doesn’t keep logs of who everyone’s messaging or calling. It also can’t see users' shared location and it doesn’t share contacts with Facebook.
The update includes new options people will have to message a business on WhatsApp, such as enabling customer service, discovering a business, and shopping experiences. It also published a chart that lets people know what pieces of information are protected and not shared with other WhatsApp users. The company said it also provides further transparency about the ways in which the company collects and uses data.
The company added it's going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around the ways in which privacy and security work on WhatsApp. It will allow end-users to gradually review the policy at their own pace before its new business options are available on 15 May.
In the initial update, WhatsApp's policy said the company could share data "to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customise, support, and market our Services and [Facebook] offerings." In some cases, such as when someone uses WhatsApp to interact with third-party businesses, Facebook said it would also share information with those outside entities.
The new terms and conditions follow WhatsApp's recent expansion into business services.
