After the Government of
India wrote a letter to the Facebook-owned instant messaging app WhatsApp to
roll back its new privacy policy, it issued a statement on Monday stating that privacy
of the users would not be compromised and it remains a priority.
Reiterating here, the Centre on May 20 had asked WhatsApp to either take back its latest privacy policy or to revise it till May 25. It further warned of strict action against the company stating it has “numerous options” available under the Indian Law to tackle the matter.
On Monday, WhatsApp responded to the letter and its spokesperson said, “We have responded to the Government of India’s letter and assured them that the privacy of users remains our highest priority. As a reminder, the recent update does not change the privacy of people’s personal messages. Its purpose is to provide additional information about how people can interact with businesses if they choose to do so.”
The facebook-owned messaging app has also made it clear that if the users won’t accept the policy they will still be able to access its functions in the coming weeks. However, the app will continue to give gentle reminders to the users about its update as well as when they choose to use relevant optional features, like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook.
Also Read: WhatsApp Privacy Policy: Accept or gradually lose the account
“We hope this approach reinforces the choice that all users have whether or not they want to interact with a business. We will maintain this approach until at least the forthcoming PDP law comes into effect,” the statement said.
It is pertinent to mention here that WhatsApp rolled its new privacy policy on May 15 under which the company is able to share the information gathered from users and businesses with Facebook.
It further added if the users will not accept the policy their accounts will not be deleted but might be restricted to use limited functions if they do not agree to the new policy even after several reminders. There still rises a chance that eventually your account will be deleted.