User leakage was becoming too great.
Whatsapp is temporarily giving up its plan to modify the conditions of use of its platform, we learned this Friday evening.
The popular messaging app, owned by Facebook, was asking its roughly two billion users to agree to new terms of service.
Objective: to enable it to share more personal data with its parent company from February 8.
Users who refuse will then no longer be able to access their account or discussion groups.
WhatsApp has tried since Tuesday to reassure its users, worried about the messaging service not sharing more data with its parent company Facebook.
The new rules released last week sparked panic and registration records among its competitors Signal and Telegram.
"Respect for your privacy is encrypted in our DNA"
“With all the rumors going around, we want to answer some of the most common questions we've received,” WhatsApp writes on its website, under the “security and privacy” section.
"We want to make it clear that the update does not affect the confidentiality of messages exchanged with your friends and family in any way," explains the messenger.
The Californian group, which derives huge profits from targeted advertising on Facebook and Instagram, has set out to generate revenue from its messengers, such as Messenger, by allowing advertisers to contact their customers, or even sell their products directly there.
This is already the case in India, its largest market with some 400 million users.
WhatsApp has sought to reassure worried users in this country by publishing a full-page message in Wednesday's newspapers, which notably states: "Respect for your privacy is encrypted in our DNA".
