The strength of the backlash likely caught WhatsApp off-guard, given that it reminded users of an existing policy rather than creating a new one. Mere days after WhatsApp first announced the changes on January 4, the messaging app Telegram said it had gained tens of millions of users, and Signal boasted “unprecedented” growth. In an attempt to staunch the bleeding, WhatsApp delayed the full rollout of the new policies for months so users would have more time to learn about the changes.
“We've spent the last few months communicating directly with users about our update,” a spokesperson told WIRED in a statement. “The majority of people have already accepted the update, and for anyone who hasn't, we won't be deleting their account on May 15 and we'll be giving plenty of opportunities for them to review the update in the future. We know WhatsApp is a lifeline for many people around the world.”
There's still the matter, though, of the lengths WhatsApp has had to go to to carry off this routine policy update. “When your users have made it clear that they would rather not accept a new policy, and your response is to very gradually push them out of an airlock, it doesn't prove that they're happy about it just because they eventually accept," says Johns Hopkins University cryptographer Matthew Green.
The other option would be to sever those connections with Facebook, but after years of sharing certain account data, both organizations likely consider rolling back the 2016 change as either inconceivable or intolerable. Or both.
The gradual removal of features is unusual, says Whitney Merrill, a privacy and data protection lawyer and former Federal Trade Commission attorney. But other companies go even further, she says, locking users out altogether until they accept a new policy. “In a way this is more friendly,” Merrill says. From WhatsApp's perspective, the slow burn gives users more chances to accept and keep using the app rather than being shut out and defecting to competitors for good.
"WhatsApp is being relied on more than ever right now and we want to keep it that way,” the spokesperson told WIRED.
Merrill points out though, that WhatsApp is in this situation in the first place because users clearly didn't understand the privacy policy changes the company made back in 2016. “If you don’t give users a good, clear notice when you make a change, people freak out whenever it’s eventually communicated properly,” she says. "This is why simple, easy-to-read policies go a long way, as do updates that include a summary of the major changes."
For WhatsApp, that bill from its 2016 privacy policy changes came due this year. Holdouts who steadfastly refuse to accept the new policy in the weeks to come will have 120 days after their accounts becomes inactive to reconsider. After that, the protracted, conscious uncoupling will really be over.
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Let’s eat them!Just a few days back, WhatsApp confirmed that it won’t delete users accounts on May 15 if they don’t accept the new privacy policy. But it looks like users will have to accept the new privacy policy at some point, especially if they wish to continue using the features.
“After giving everyone time to review, we’re continuing to remind those who haven’t had the chance to do so to review and accept,” WhatsApp said. While the company is giving some more time to WhatsApp users, one will have to accept the new privacy policy if they want to use all the features of the app.
If you don’t accept the new privacy policy, you won’t lose full functionality immediately as the company will gradually disable all the features. WhatsApp is saying that it will continue to send the reminder to accept the new policy, and after a period of several weeks, the company will limit the functionality for those who don’t accept the update.
The moment WhatsApp starts sending “persistent reminders,” users will encounter limited functionality on WhatsApp until they accept the updates.
The messaging service says “this will not happen to all users at the same time.” One won’t be able to access their WhatsApp chat list, but the app will let you answer or make incoming voice or video calls.
If you have notifications enabled, you can tap on them to read or respond to a message. After a few weeks of limited functionality if you still don’t accept the privacy policy, then you will lose access to make or receive incoming calls.
Read more |WhatsApp defers May 15 deadline on privacy policy
WhatsApp will also stop sending messages and calls to your phone. So, those who haven’t accepted WhatsApp’s new privacy policy will have to accept it if they want to use this messaging app. The company is saying that it won’t delete your WhatsApp account if you don’t accept the update, but if you can’t use any of the features, then there is no point in having an account.
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Additionally, if you don’t use the messaging app, then your account will get deleted as WhatsApp generally deletes those accounts that remain untouched for about 120 days.
WhatsApp has reiterated that its messaging app is end-to-end encrypted and that it doesn’t have access to your private chats or location. The company doesn’t share private messages or other data with Facebook. But, the new update will enable WhatsApp to use some of the “business conversations” hosted with the social network for advertising.
Only “when you communicate with a business by phone, email, or WhatsApp, it can see what you’re saying and may use that information for its own marketing purposes, which may include advertising on Facebook,” the company said.
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WhatsApp says it will “clearly label conversations with businesses that are choosing to use hosting services from Facebook.” “Messaging with businesses is different than messaging with your family or friends,” WhatsApp added.
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The privacy policy had caused a lot of uproar, and also saw some misinformation being spread about WhatsApp. The policy also led to a spike in growth for apps like Signal and Telegram.
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WhatsApp changed its mind about sanctioning users for refusing to accept a new privacy policy requiring them to share their personal data with Facebook.
For this, they could lose the main functions of the service, but the authorities of many countries stood up for them - Turkey, India, Germany, Brazil, etc. Now the messenger will only periodically remind you of the need to adopt new rules, but this "truce" may be temporary.
WhatsApp messenger will not restrict user profiles if they refuse to accept the new privacy policy. Facebook, the owner of the messenger, abandoned these plans after many states strongly opposed this initiative, writes The Verge.
The developers, as reported by CNews, were ready to take away the ability of users to exchange text messages and media content and leave them only audio calls if they refused to accept the new privacy policy. It involves sending a lot of user data (transaction details, IP addresses, etc.) to Facebook, so that it can then use it to target ads on its social network of the same name. The new rules came into force on May 15, 2021.
Restrict your WhatsApp users until
WhatsApp's statement regarding the withdrawal of its threats explicitly states that the developers backed out after a dialogue with representatives of different countries (which ones - not specified) and privacy experts. Now all WhatsApp users will have full access to all the standard functions of the messenger, even if they refuse to accept the new rules.
At the same time, WhatsApp developers did not completely abandon the new privacy policy, which caused dissatisfaction not only with politicians, but also with ordinary users. Messenger will still share data with Facebook.
Moreover, the developers intend to further promote the new rules. For example, for those who refused to agree to the new terms, WhatsApp will now periodically display reminders about the benefits of innovations.
Fragment of Facebook Statement
They will talk about the new features that the new policy will open to users.
In particular, they will be allowed to chat with a business account maintained on Facebook. These same reminders will also have an "Accept" button.
As the portal The Next Web writes, the "truce", which the developers of the messenger agreed to, may be temporary. According to its experts, now WhatsApp is trying to maintain the loyalty of users who have staged a mass escape to other instant messengers, and not to anger the governments of various states.
The story with the new privacy policy began on January 8, 2021, when Facebook updated the user agreement for the messenger. It was then that clauses about the need to share user data with the social network appeared in it.
The deadline for accepting the new rules was February 8, 2021, but the "Accept" button wasn't clicked as often as Facebook wanted.
Mark Zuckerberg's company instead (Mark Zuckerberg) received a flurry of criticism from users and faced a massive outflow of users to other services.
An unprecedented influx of new users, in particular, received Signal and Telegram - the latter, thanks to Facebook, increased its audience to more than 500 million.
Since then, Facebook has moved the deadline for adopting new rules to May 15, 2021, but has begun to intimidate users with new sanctions, in particular by disabling the main functions of the messenger. She also began to threaten to delete the accounts of those users who do not accept the new privacy policy and leave for other services.
Facebook's attempt to force users to accept the new rules has completely failed. Politicians from many countries got involved and rebuffed the American company.
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These include Turkey, whose authorities announced on May 21, 2021 that WhatsApp will work in that country without any restrictions, even if the new policy is not adopted.
How exactly they managed to achieve this remains unknown.
In Brazil, the new Facebook policy also does not apply. According to ZDnet, the country's authorities forced Facebook to postpone its entry into force for 90 days. During this time, Brazilian regulators will study it in detail.
Regulators now believe WhatsApp's new privacy policy could pose a threat to the rights of Brazilian users. If the same opinion is reflected in their final report, then Facebook may face various sanctions, including fines.
At the end of May 2021, the Indian authorities also expressed dissatisfaction with the new privacy policy of the messenger. They asked to withdraw it, but did not specify what would happen if Facebook did not do this.
Germany reacted more harshly. According to Reuters, in mid-May 2021, Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Johannes Caspar banned Facebook from collecting and processing data from German WhatsApp users for the next three months.
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Johannes Kaspar also addressed the regulators of other European countries, urging them to follow his example and take action against Facebook's actions. According to him, the new privacy policy violates the rights and freedoms of WhatsApp users.
The Russian authorities have not yet decided on their attitude to the new rules of the popular messenger. On May 15, 2021, the day they come into force, the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Alexander Khinshtein told RIA Novosti that it is quite possible to restrict the work of WhatsApp in Russia. However, he stressed that so far "this is a matter of broad discussion."
On the same day, Khinshtein wrote on his Telegram channel that so far there was no talk of blocking WhatsApp in Russia.
Khinshtein noted that Roskomnadzor would make the decision on how the state would react to Facebook's innovations.
Meanwhile, a draft law is being prepared in Russia to allow blocking foreign Internet companies for not having representative offices in Russia. Khinshtein is one of the authors of this document. Facebook is also on the list of companies whose services will be at risk of blocking if the bill is passed. WhatsApp is also mentioned in it.
WhatsApp can also be removed from the Apple App Store, a branded catalog of applications for iPhone and iPad, at any time. As CNews reported, WhatsApp's new rules, which involve the transfer of user data to Facebook, run counter to the current rules of the app store.
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WhatsApp's new policies, which are now mandatory for all users, reflect Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's push to turn the messenger into a "super app," according to The Guardian.
According to experts interviewed by the publication, the billionaire plans to compete with the Chinese WeChat, which combines the functions of a social network, a payment system, and a media editor. Will Zuckerberg be able to bring his plans to life - Gazeta.Ru figured it out.
On May 15th, the updated WhatsApp Terms of Use came into effect and are mandatory for users to accept. Now the messenger will transfer personal data of users to the parent company Facebook to analyze their habits and preferences. Those people who do not agree with the new policy will lose the opportunity to use the messenger in full - its functionality will be seriously limited.
These plans became known six months ago, when WhatsApp first announced the changes. Since then, disputes about the violation of user privacy have not subsided, which will certainly be affected after the adoption of new rules. At the same time, the reasons for the innovations seem to be clear to everyone - Mark Zuckerberg wants to know as much as possible about all of us.
However, this is not the only reason, reports The Guardian .
According to experts interviewed by the publication, the head of Facebook planned these changes back in 2014, when he bought WhatsApp for $19 billion. , where users can not only chat with family and friends, but also order pizza, pay bills, and contact government agencies. For this, the messenger needs as much personal data as possible about its consumers.
“Facebook has ambitious plans to expand its messaging app to achieve what Tencent did in China with WeChat… WeChat also has its own widgets and games, and it has become an integral part of people's daily lives in the country. Achieving the same success would be a huge win for Facebook.” - says CCS Insight analyst Martin Garner.
Despite the mostly negative public reaction to WhatsApp's new rules, Daniel O'Connell, VP of Research at Gartner, an analytics firm, sees Facebook as triumphant in transforming the messaging app into a super app.
“On the back of the success of the WhatsApp Business API [Whatsapp business product for medium and large companies to connect with customers — approx. ed.] this messenger stands out from competing services, making WhatsApp even more valuable and ubiquitous. Its rival WeChat has already proven the value of using messaging apps for business purposes. It is undeniable that everyone knows that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which means that it can somehow abuse the data received. However, WhatsApp is very common, cheap, practical and intuitive. The vast majority of smartphone users between the ages of five and 95 years - literally from the cradle to the grave - regularly use WhatsApp, ”the expert said.
Will WhatsApp really be able to transform from a regular messenger into a super app? It has long been clear that the transformation of individual applications or social networks into real giants of the industry, where a person can receive everything on the principle of a “single window”, is a matter of our near future, says Artem Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets.
“Whatsapp's main advantage is its huge global user base, and all the changes are aimed at getting as much information about users as possible. Now this is done everywhere, not only by social networks, but also by individual applications of banks, shops, educational portals, etc. Information about the consumer, his preferences, political views, social level, etc. - a huge amount of data both in terms of marketing and in terms of the possibility of manipulation in the interests of the state or an individual corporation.
Now such monsters as Facebook or WeChat become the moderators of the picture of the world for the society. It's a matter of power.
And, of course, Zuckerberg is well aware of this, in addition, the user data of millions and billions of people is a giant capital.
It is too early to judge whether Facebook will overtake WeChat. Currently, there is a struggle of technologies, the development of various accounting systems and plans to further assign users to a particular network.
But sooner or later, the moment will come when such networks will provide people with the opportunity to get everything - from communication to shopping, travel packages, etc., ”the expert said.
This is not the first time WhatsApp has taken steps to create a convenient infrastructure for business inside the messenger, says Mark Sherman, managing partner at communications agency B&C. Even the creation of business accounts a few years ago was primarily a step in this direction. Now the company is clearly continuing its course, and sees a great growth potential for the messenger in the development of opportunities for sellers.
“It's hard to predict what the final audience of WhatsApp will be. However, taking into account the fact that the users of the messenger are residents of most countries, and WeChat is mainly distributed only in the local market, its general audience will surpass Chinese competitors.
It is already clear that the negative users do not pose critical problems for WhatsApp - any popular platform faces the problem of accepting innovations, but in the vast majority of cases, over time, users get used to the changes and continue to use convenient software, ”Sherman believes.
