Millions of Indian users received an in-app notification from WhatsApp as part of an upcoming global roll-out for over 2 billion users, asking them to either accept the changes in its Terms of Service and privacy policy by February 8 or their accounts will be deleted.
The in-app notification did not elicit much details but clicking on the links clearly mentioned the key changes in how WhatsApp will collect and process users' information going forward, and the partnership with Facebook, its parent company, as part of a larger unification drive between the family of apps.
"WhatsApp must receive or collect some information to operate, provide, improve, understand, customise, support, and market our Services, including when you install, access, or use our Services," the updated policy read.
"Businesses you interact with using our Services may provide us with information about their interactions with you. We require each of these businesses to act in accordance with applicable law when providing any information to us," it further read.
WhatsApp's new Terms of Service and privacy policy will come into effect on February 8.
Following this people on social media started trolling WhatsApp and even threatened to delete the App:
A user wrote, "Woke up to Whatsapp's (Facebook's?) take it or leave it styled #PrivacyPolicy update. Desperate times call for moves to keep Facebook alive and relevant. It's only a matter of time from when we will move from here to something more like #Facebook is at right now.."
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Another user wrote, "Instead of using proprietary Facebook's garbage #WhatsApp start using @SignalMessenger a complete opensource and secure platform (recommended by @Snowden). Facebook is going to track to you more than ever. Time to uninstall it now and ask others to switch to signal." "WhatsApp used to be all about security. “Privacy and security are in our DNA,” it says and it takes credit for delivering encrypted message privacy to the masses. But Metadata matters and #Apple's new privacy label highlight the stunning contrast between iMessage and #WhatsApp," added another user.WITH INPUTS FROM IANS