The WhatsApp update bringing new business features begins rolling out on Saturday.

Very controversial, it directly links the messaging app to Facebook and Instagram.

It is possible to refuse it but in this case, Whatsapp will be emptied of most of its functionalities.

DECRYPTION

After being pushed back for three months, the controversial Whatsapp update goes into effect gradually from Saturday.

The messaging application has been under fire for several months because its parent company, Facebook, would like to make it a more commercial tool.

Believing that the update was misunderstood, the social network postponed its commissioning to educate its users.

This time, you will have to choose between accepting the new terms of use or rejecting them.

Knowing that Facebook has done everything so that the second option is not really one.

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Facebook wants to make Whatsapp profitable

Before discussing what changes, a point on what will not change once the update is installed. Already, Whatsapp will remain an encrypted messaging app. “Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see the content you share with your family and friends, which includes your personal messages and calls, the content shared as attachments, or the locations you send. recipients of messages or calls. In addition, WhatsApp does not share your contacts with Facebook ", specifies the social network on its site.

On the other hand, the update will add commercial functionalities to link Whatsapp to other services of Facebook, which implies a wider sharing of personal data.

For example, an advertisement on Instagram could display a Whatsapp button so that the Internet user can contact the brand's customer service directly.

There will also be a system of purchases integrated into the messaging, as it already exists on Instagram or on Messenger, which also belong to Facebook.

The objective of the social network is to make the application profitable.

Note that if you have a Facebook account, these ads will be targeted based on your online searches. 

In case of refusal, Whatsapp will become useless

The new terms of use will be submitted to you once the app is updated. If you don't agree the first time, more and more recurring reminders will be sent to you as the days go by. Because yes, it is possible to refuse the innovations integrated by Facebook. In this case, you will still be able to use Whatsapp but with degraded functions. At first, you will no longer have access to your discussion list. You will also be able to answer calls but not make any. To read and reply to a message, you will have to activate notifications and imperatively go through them to communicate with your contacts. 

Then, after a few weeks, even these degraded functions will disappear.

"After a few weeks of limited operation, you will no longer be able to receive incoming calls or notifications and WhatsApp will stop sending messages and calls to your phone," Facebook says.

In other words, even if your account will still exist (with the possibility of downloading your archives), the application will become totally useless.

The choice offered by Facebook is therefore not really one.

Signal and Telegram take advantage

Constraints that have led many users to leave Whatsapp for other secure applications such as Signal or Telegram. According to a study conducted by Internet service provider ExpressVPN, "55% of WhatsApp users say they use the app much less, if not at all, since the announcement of the new terms of service." In detail, 29% of French users have started to use Messenger more, 18% are turning to iMessage (secure SMS from the iPhone), 11% to Telegram and 7% to Signal.