WhatsApp has changed the terms of service to share data with Facebook..

[sanjay kumar]

Users of the popular messenger WhatsApp began to receive notifications of changes that were made to the Terms of Service and the Service's Privacy Policy. The new rules, according to which WhatsApp will share the collected data with Facebook, will take effect on February 8, 2021. Until that date, all users who wish to continue using the service must agree to the new terms.

At the heart of the update to the WhatsApp Terms of Service are the changes that were announced back in the middle of last year. However, before you could use the option "do not provide Facebook with information about your WhatsApp account." Now this is not possible and users will have to accept the new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to continue using the messenger.


As for the information that WhatsApp will exchange with Facebook, it is quite diverse. “The information we share with other Facebook companies includes registration data associated with your account (for example, a phone number), transaction data, service-related data, including regarding user interactions (including companies) when using our services, information about users' mobile devices, IP-addresses, etc., ”the WhatsApp message says. It is also noted that the service may collect other information specified in the updated privacy policy or received after notifying the user.

The updated Privacy Policy also explains how Facebook companies can use the data they collect from WhatsApp. They can be used to improve infrastructure and delivery systems, analyze how the company's services are used, help ensure the safety and integrity of Facebook products, and more. The

new changes are in line with Facebook's ambitious goal of providing more consistent user experiences across all of its services. While these changes will help deliver better services, they can also pose a number of privacy concerns for processed data...

[sanjay kumar]

what new data will be shared with Facebook?

The instant messaging app has implemented new terms of service forcing its users to share their data with businesses linked to Facebook. However, this new policy will only partially apply to users in Europe.

As we announced yesterday, WhatsApp now requires its users to share their data with Facebook. A decision that provoked strong reactions around the world. However, this obligation does not apply everywhere in the world.

Faced with this outcry, WhatsApp wanted to provide some details regarding the implementation of its new terms of use.

While outside the EU, WhatsApp users will have to agree to share their data with Facebook, European users will not be subject to the same rules and will not have to share data to improve or help Facebook products. to refine their advertising profile.

This part of the new WhatsApp Terms of Service does not apply to Europe or the UK, a WhatsApp spokesperson tells us.

A statement confirmed on Twitter by Niamh Sweeney, the person in charge of the privacy policy of WhatsApp, who explains in a thread that no change has been made in this direction for European users


2/5 It has been incorrectly reported that WhatsApp's latest Terms of Service and Privacy Policy update requires users in the European Region to agree to the sharing of data with Facebook for ads purposes in order to continue using the service. This is false.
- Niamh Sweeney (@NiamhSweeneyNYC) January 7, 2021

So why is WhatsApp still forcing European users to accept these new conditions to continue using the app? Simply because some companies using Facebook also use WhatsApp to communicate with their customers.

There are two scenarios: either the company itself hosts the WhatsApp chat, which allows it to retain the encryption and therefore the confidentiality of exchanges with its customers, or it takes advantage of Facebook to host the WhatsApp chat, this which authorizes the social network to use the data exchanged.

European users therefore have the obligation to accept the new conditions of use, in the event that they are likely to exchange on WhatsApp with a company using Facebook's hosting services.