By buying WhatsApp, it was clear that Facebook would want to further consolidate its user base, and the data that goes with it. This is now causing a lot of controversy.

Facebook, by buying WhatsApp, got its hands on a real goose egg, nothing more than the most popular instant messaging platform of the moment. It was obvious that the American giant was going to use this user base to boost its own, and above all to make the most of their data. Having said that, the implementation of the new terms of use, with regard to the use of this data, made a lot of teeth gnashing.

WhatsApp Defers Application of New Terms of Use

A few weeks ago, we heard that WhatsApp wanted to implement new terms of use regarding privacy and the handling of user data. Basically, these would now be shared with Facebook. This led to a lot of confusion as many users were not aware of what exactly WhatsApp would share. And most feared the worst. This led WhatsApp to publish a dedicated FAQ.

To give users time to fully understand

However, it seems that this FAQ has not been enough, users still seem to be confused about the real impact of these changes. So much so that WhatsApp recently announced on its blog the postponement of the implementation of these new conditions. This is to give users more time to read and understand the situation.

According to WhatsApp:

According to the WhatsApp release: “We are therefore extending the date by which we will ask users to accept these new terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8th. We will also do more to clarify the situation and clear up any misinformation that may be circulating about the privacy and security practices in place on WhatsApp. We will then gradually ask users to evaluate these rules at their own pace before the new business options are deployed on May 15th.

We will make sure users have plenty of time to review and understand the terms. Rest assured we never planned to delete any accounts based on this and will not do so in the future.

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 15, 2021

WhatsApp’s competitors benefits from the situation!

At the same time, the confusion and these changes have greatly benefited WhatsApp’s competitors. Telegram, for example, has seen an explosion in the number of active users. The platform reported that it had registered no fewer than 25 million new registrations in 72 hours. It also recently surpassed the symbolic 500 million active users mark. Read more…