WhatsApp will no longer punish you if you refuse its new privacy policy

WhatsApp has reversed its plans to penalise users who did not agree to its controversial new privacy policy after suffering mass defections to rival apps and opposition from several governments. The Facebook-owned messaging app had previously said that users would gradually lose access to key features if they did not sign up to the new terms by May 15. Refuseniks would first be barred from browsing their chat list and then, after a few weeks, blocked from receiving any incoming calls and messages. But earlier this week the company updated its website to say that "no one will have their accounts deleted or lose functionality" even if they did not say yes. A spokesman told The Next Web: "Given recent discussions with various authorities and privacy experts, we want to make clear that we currently have no plans to limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works for those who have not yet accepted the update. "Instead, we will continue to remind users from time to time about the update as well as when people choose to use relevant optional features, like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook." Privacy and competition regulators in Germany, Turkey and India have blocked the new update, while rival apps such as Telegram and Signal have seen spikes in new users. The policy, first announced in January via a pop-up inside the app, allows the messages sent between WhatsApp users and other businesses to be stored on Facebook's servers and used to inform advertising on other services. Facebook has invested heavily in turning WhatsApp into an online shopping hub, where users can buy products or chat with customer service agents in the app. Unlike ordinary WhatsApp messages, these conversations can be read and analysed by the company in question. However, many users mistook the policy for blanket permission to read all their messages, which remains impossible in most cases due to WhatsApp's strong end to end encryption. The uproar forced Facebook to delay the changes and then to soften the consequences for users who decline, while embarking on a PR campaign to correct the "misinformation". Earlier this month, India's information technology ministry asked WhatsApp to withdraw the policy or face potential action. India is one of the app's biggest markets, with more than 450m monthly active users. Read More...