WhatsApp Will Delete Your Account if You Don't Share Your Private Info

WhatsApp is changing its privacy policy, and you need to know what it says. If you do not agree to share your private information with other Facebook companies, your account will be deleted. 

What is WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a cross-platform mobile app that has always prided itself on privacy. It has specific features that make it more secure, including end-to-end encryption of phone calls and text. When someone wants to have a completely private conversation that cannot be intercepted by anyone else, they turn to WhatsApp. 

The app uses voice over IP (VOIP) and allows users to send text messages, make phone calls, share documents and images, and make video calls. 

WhatsApp was founded by two former Yahoo employees Brian Acton and Jan Koum. In February 2014, Facebook purchased the popular app for US $19.3 billion. By 2015 it was hailed as the most popular messaging app. It is extremely popular in other countries. By 2020 it had 2 billion users worldwide.

The Change in Privacy Policy

The app's privacy policy has always been about preserving user privacy. In fact, the opening line is, "Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA. Since we started WhatsApp, we've aspired to build our Services with a set of strong privacy principles in mind."

However, along with a significant change to its privacy policing rolling out on February 8, 2021, all that is going to change. According to The Hacker News, the major changes pertain to "how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats," and "how we partner with Facebook to offer integrations across the Facebook Company Products."

The reason for the change is to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger in the most seamless fashion, and to do so; Facebook needs to share all data across all their platforms. 

The Nitty Gritty Details

According to The Hacker News, "The mandatory changes allow WhatsApp to  [share](https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/security-and-privacy/what-information-does-whatsapp-share-with-the-facebook-companies)  more user data with other Facebook companies, including account registration information, phone numbers, transaction data, service-related information, interactions on the platform, mobile device information, IP address, and other data collected based on users' consent."

The most alarming statement in the notice of the change is that "Users failing to agree to the revised terms by the cut-off date will have their accounts rendered inaccessible, the company said in the notification."

Data shared among other Facebook companies may include Facebook, Messenger, Boomerang, Instagram, Threads, Oculus VR headsets (using a FB account), Facebook Shops, Sparks AR Studio, Portal-branded devices, Audience Network, and NPE Team apps along with any other acquired apps and companies in the future. 

The update to its privacy policy clearly re-defines what "Information You Provide" applies to and "Affiliated Companies," which are Facebook-owned and partnered ventures that will partake in your data. 

The notice has also added a new section called "How We Work With Other Facebook Companies." What this means is that by providing Portal and Facebook Pay integrations, they will be sharing private information across channels and making suggestions such as friend or group connections or things the app thinks you might find interesting. The goal is to personalize your content and expand the app's features, like allowing you to make purchases from inside the app and showing you ads. 

The Hacker News warns that "One section that's received a major rewrite is "Automatically Collected Information," which covers "Usage and log Information," "Device And Connection Information," and "Location Information."

The contents of this section are as follows: "We collect information about your activity on our Services, like service-related, diagnostic, and performance information. This includes information about your activity (including how you use our Services, your Services settings, how you interact with others using our Services (including when you interact with a business), and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities and interactions), log files, and diagnostic, crash, website, and performance logs and reports. This also includes information about when you registered to use our Services; the features you use like our messaging, calling, Status, groups (including group name, group picture, group description), payments or business features; profile photo, "about" information; whether you are online, when you last used our Services (your "last seen"); and when you last updated your "about" information."

The policy revisions go on to talk about what type of user device information the app collects, such as: "hardware model, operating system information, battery level, signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network, connection information (including phone number, mobile operator or ISP), language and time zone, IP address, device operations information, and identifiers (including identifiers unique to Facebook Company Products associated with the same device or account)."

The Bottom Line

This change to WhatsApp's privacy policy is not a minor one, and it may have those users expecting and requiring absolute privacy, looking for another app to use.