On late Tuesday evening, millions of WhatsApp users in India received a notification asking them to either accept its new Terms of Service and privacy policy by February 8 or lose access to the app.
"WhatsApp is updating its terms and privacy policy," the notification sent by the firm to Android and iOS users read.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the notification also mentions how the company processes user data, how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats and how the company partners with Facebook which is its parent company.
WhatsApp has shared the details of the changes on its website. One of the major change made by WhatsApp relates to its data collection. “When a user forwards media within a message, we store that media temporarily in encrypted form on our servers to aid in more efficient delivery of additional forwards,” WhatsApp wrote.
The new Terms of Service and privacy policy of WhatsApp makes sharing information with Facebook mandatory for its users. Prior to the update, existing users were provided with the option to choose not to have their WhatsApp account information shared with Facebook.
In an FAQ section on its website, WhatsApp informs, “The information we share with the other Facebook Companies includes your account registration information (such as your phone number), transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with others (including businesses) when using our Services, mobile device information, your IP address, and may include other information identified in the Privacy Policy section entitled ‘Information We Collect' or obtained upon notice to you or based on your consent.”
The updated privacy policy and terms of service will come into force on February 8, 2021, the Facebook-owned company informed users through the notice on its app.
