05/15/2021 12:04 PM
Clarín.com
Technology
Updated 05/15/2021 12:04
WhatsApp, the most used instant messaging application in the world, will not delete on May 15
accounts that do not accept its new
privacy
policy
, based on the exchange of data with Facebook.
But it will send reminders to its users to review those changes and, after a while, it will limit functions if they are not accepted.
"We spent the last few months providing more information about our update to users around the world. During this time, most of the people who received the update accepted it, and
WhatsApp continues to grow
," a WhatsApp spokesperson told Télam.
However, he continued, "for those who have not yet had a chance to accept the update,
their accounts will not be deleted or lose functionality on May 15. We will
continue to offer reminders for these users within WhatsApp in the coming weeks."
"After several weeks, the reminder will become persistent,
" he completed.
A "persistent reminder" means that the recipient will have "limited access to WhatsApp features" until they accept the update, WhatsApp explained.
Limited access means that users will
not be able to "access your chat list
, but they will be able to answer calls and video calls."
After a few weeks of limited functionality, those who have received the persistent reminder "will
not be able to receive calls or notifications
, and WhatsApp will stop sending messages and calls to their phones."
In short, if people do not accept the update "
WhatsApp will not delete your account
", but from now on they will have a limited service that will make this app almost meaningless in terms of its messaging application function.
The controversy over the January announcement
Go back with the initial idea.
Photo EFE
Last January, WhatsApp postponed its plans to limit user accounts to this Saturday, after a failed attempt to do so on February 8, due to a wave of criticism that sparked the original announcement: not only because it was confusing at the communicational level but, fundamentally, because
it had no option of rejection by users.
This new privacy policy returns to the user data exchange model between Facebook and WhatsApp, which had a first precedent in 2016,
this time
focused
on its Business version (intended for companies) and advertising.
Companies that use WhatsApp Business to communicate with their customers, especially large ones that receive many inquiries, can now use Facebook's hosting services (as a technology provider), which provide
a "more secure structure"
to manage chats, according to the social network.
When people decide to contact these types of companies, who use the Facebook hosting service, they will see a label that will identify the case, and if they want to block or delete that contact (as can be done with any contact).
The main novelty then is that companies will be able to use the conversations they receive for
their own marketing purposes.
"Whether you communicate with a company by phone, email or WhatsApp, this company can see the information that you are sharing and use it for its own marketing purposes, which
could include the use of advertising on Facebook,
" explained the messaging app.
What data does WhatsApp share with Facebook
End-to-end encryption is maintained.
Reuters photo
The data that Facebook usually shares with WhatsApp when they use its services, beyond this new privacy policy, are:
phone number
that the person verified when they signed up for WhatsApp; some
device data
(operating system and application version, platform information, country and network code); in addition to some
data on the use
(when WhatsApp was used for the last time, the date on which the account was registered, the frequency with which the functions are used and the use that is given), according to its official blog.
What remains the same is the security offered
by end-to-end encryption
on the content of chats: "
Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see the content you share with family and friends
, including your personal messages and calls, the files you share and the locations you ship. "
Johannes Caspar, the data protection officer in Hamburg, the city where Facebook is based in Germany, issued an order this week prohibiting Facebook from
processing the WhatsApp data of German users
(who number around 60 million).
Meanwhile, the Al Sur Consortium, made up of eleven civil society and academic organizations on human rights
in the region's digital environment
, spoke out about WhatsApp's new data policy through a public statement.
Among other issues, Al Sur asks Facebook and local authorities that if the announced changes go ahead, "WhatsApp grant the alternative that users can voluntarily reject said modifications to the privacy policy, without being prevented
from accessing. to WhatsApp services ".
Look also
How to know if your WhatsApp messages have been read even if there is no blue check
The Government against Facebook: they dictate a measure to prevent WhatsApp from using user information
