WhatsApp, which recently released an important update for PC users, has been part of Facebook’s businesses since 2014. The company has so far evolved to coexist with the products and services offered on the Facebook communication and social platform. Additionally, it has updated its privacy policy, according to which the sharing of data with Facebook is mandatory.
If you are a regular user of WhatsApp, you must have noticed a full-screen pop-up window suddenly showing information about the updated terms and privacy policy. In this case, you are not alone. The company’s new update (from January 4, 2021) makes data sharing mandatory.
According to the notification screenshot, the deadline is February 8, 2021. As you can see below, the company briefly described three main points:
- WhatsApp Service and Processing of Data
- Businesses can use Facebook Hosted Services to store WhatsApp chats.
- Partnership with other Facebook Products for seamless integration.
Essentially, this means that the latest update is different from the previous version that you can opt out of, and it will share information with other Facebook products.
In the FAQ, the company also detailed the type of information shared with the sisters. If you don’t know, Facebook’s subsidiaries include Facebook Payments Inc. and Facebook Payments International Limited. , Onavo, Facebook Technologies LLC and CrowdTangle.
Below are the categories of informations being shared:
- Account Registration(eg. Phone Number)
- Transaction Data
- Service-Related Information
- Information on how you interact with others(incl. Businesses)
- Mobile device information
- IP Adress
- Others (Specified as on Privacy Policy->Information we collect)
To be precise, the other functions on the “Privacy Policy” page have newly added functions, such as “Transaction and Payment Data” (if you use WhatsApp Pay). The detailed information that the company is entitled to collect includes transportation details, payment methods and transaction amounts. The above payment function has been launched in countries/regions such as India.
In addition, there is location-based information. WhatsApp stated that even if you don’t use their location service, they will use your IP address and phone number to determine your approximate location.
For this reason, the company pointed out that the process is used for troubleshooting and diagnosis.
Straight up stated that you can follow these changes to continue using the service, or you can go to the help center and see how to “delete your account”.
