WhatsApp pushes back changes to terms of service amid public outcry
WhatsApp has announced that it has rejected the modification of its terms of use this Friday, January 15, 2021. AP - Patrick Sison
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
WhatsApp announced this Friday, January 15, to postpone the change of its terms of use for three months after the fears expressed by many users that the mobile messaging service would share confidential data with its parent company, Facebook.
Publicity
Read more
If this is not a backpedal, it is in any case a serious brake.
Faced with the outcry caused by the change in its terms of use allowing it to share more data with its parent company Facebook, WhatsApp reacted.
"
We are now delaying the date by which users will have to review and agree to the terms,
" the mobile messaging service said in a blog post on Friday.
The changes, which were supposed to come into effect on February 8, will not be effective until May 15.
On January 7, WhatsApp asked its approximately two billion users to accept these new terms of use or else they will no longer access their account from February 8.
The announcement had sown panic and angered many users, who were alarmed at the abandonment of the founding values of WhatsApp.
The application has built its reputation in particular on data protection.
The platform had tried to calm the fire
with reassuring announcements and advertising campaigns, but competing services, such as Signal and Telegram, were able to take advantage of the confusion and saw their downloads soar on the Apple Store and Google Play in several countries.
For its part, the Competition Authority in Turkey announced Monday the opening of an investigation against WhatsApp and Facebook, demanding the suspension of the update.
► To read also: The new rules of WhatsApp favor the competing application Signal
WhatsApp assured this Friday that the update would not "
strengthen (its) ability to share data with Facebook
", but was primarily intended to help businesses communicate better with their customers through the platform.
“
We know there has been confusion and misinformation about this update, and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts,
” the company said.
WhatsApp conversations will continue to be end-to-end encrypted and neither Facebook nor WhatsApp will be able to see these private messages, the company says.
(With
AFP
)
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Internet
GAFA