WhatsApp has today announced that they will give more time for their recent service terms update that caused an uproar on social media.
“We’re now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We’re also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp,” they announced.
WhatsApp has also said that they will let people ‘gradually’ review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15.
WhatsApp also said that the new terms are not changing at all but they have added new options for people who have to contact businesses on WhatsApp and the kind of data they will be collecting.
“With these updates, none of that is changing. Instead, the update includes new options people will have to message a business on WhatsApp, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data. While not everyone shops with a business on WhatsApp today, we think that more people will choose to do so in the future and it’s important people are aware of these services. This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook,” WhatsApp clarified.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us and to so many who have helped spread facts and stop rumors. We will continue to put everything we have into making WhatsApp the best way to communicate privately,” WhatsApp ended.
WhatsApp is doing damage control after their new terms made people start switching to other platforms enmasse. Telegram for example announced that they got 25 million users in 3 days. Signal Messenger, a privacy focused app said that they have received a lot of new users lately and is currently down for probably the same reason.
