The new year has started with new Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for the WhatsApp users. If the conditions are not considered, then the account will have to be deleted. User’s will have the time till February 8 to think about whether to accept the terms or not. Worldwide, more than 200 million users use WhatsApp. Many questions related to these conditions must be arising in the mind. We are answering few of them.
1 What is the new policy of WhatsApp?
WhatsApp users are getting updates of its new terms and privacy policy. It has been written that users will have to accept this policy. It will be in force from 8 February 2021. It will be necessary to Agree after this date. If you do not agree then you will not be able to use the application. For this you can visit the help center. Right now the option of Agree and Not Now are available in the policy.
It says that the company can upload, submit, store, send or receive content to WhatsApp to operate our services, the company can use, reproduce, distribute and display them anywhere.
2 Why did WhatsApp take such a decision?
After approving this policy, WhatsApp will be able to access the data of more than 200 crore users. They will also be able to share the data on other platforms. In the notification of the new policy, he has clearly written that now WhatsApp will share every information of yours with its parent company Facebook and Instagram. WhatsApp can also earn money using its users’ data.
3 How will the policy affect the user?
It has been decided that if you run WhatsApp then this policy has to be accepted. The user will have to share the privacy with the WhatsApp company even if user do not want to. The company will also keep a close watch on users data and the privacy will be completely lost.
Advertisement to be decided by expenses: WhatsApp will track your bank name, amount and delivery location. With this, Facebook-Instagram will also know your financial transactions. The company will be profiling you through transaction details. For example, if you eat idli-dosa, then you are not a rich man. If you go to Starbucks, you are rich. Then you will start seeing advertisements for expensive vehicles.
IP address and location will be traced: WhatsApp has given the option that users can disable their location access. However, the IP address and mobile number will give you an idea of when and where you go.
Status is also not safe: WhatsApp will also read your status. The risk is if you wrote – tell which car to buy. So Facebook-Instagram will also read it and you will start seeing ads of cars, bikes. Just like if you wrote – where should you go to roam. Then many social media related advertisements will come on your social page.
You will get content and analysis on content: WhatsApp will also give you suggestions of friends, groups, content, etc. In a way, WhatsApp will monitor your every action and analyze it. Facebook will show you shopping, product advertisements on this basis.
There will also be an eye on the WhatsApp call: The company will know how many WhatsApp calls do you make? Which group is more active? How much is the broadcast list? The forwarding photos and videos will be stored for more days on the server. They will know which content is getting more forward. This information will be important at the time of tracking fake news and elections. WhatsApp will also have an access to catalogs shared with the business account.
4 Should the policy be accepted?
The new policy is going to have a profound effect on the privacy of the user. That is, as soon as you sign a new policy of the company, it will also give the rights to access its data. The problem is that if you want to run WhatsApp then it is necessary to Agree the policy. Because after February 8, the policy will have to be accepted. If you do not agree, then WhatsApp account will have to be deleted.
5 What happened to the company’s end-to-end encrypted policy?
WhatsApp used to claim in its end-to-end encrypted policy that it does not even have your messages and data. It will end after 8 February. The company wrote in its policy that your privacy and security is top for us, so we have prepared an end to end encryption feature for you.
Being encrypted end-to-end protects your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, statuses, and calls and no one can misuse them. The end-to-end encryption feature ensures that messages and calls remain only between you and your contact. No one else, even WhatsApp, can read, hear and see them.
