Malcolm Owen
WhatsApp is no longer going to limit the accounts of users who do not accept the updated privacy policy, with the Facebook-owned iOS app now saying it wont be harming anyone's usage of the service for the moment.
Since February, WhatsApp has warned users to accept the new privacy policy it brought into force from May 15th. Users who didn't accept the changes were informed they "won't have full functionality of WhatsApp" until they accept, but it seems the app has backtracked on the threat.
In a statement where it claims to have talked to "various authorities and privacy experts," WhatsApp seems to have reversed course on limiting accounts. "We want to make clear that we currently have no plans to limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works for those who have not yet accepted the update," the statement to The Next Web states.
It follows on "Instead, we will continue to remind users from time to time about the update as well as when people choose to use relevant optional features, like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook."
The statement is a considerable step backwards for WhatsApp, which was insistent in early May that after "several weeks" of non-acceptance, core functionality of the platform would have been restricted.
The policy changes produced an early user backlash on their announcement, which relate to how business chat logs are stored and retained on Facebook's servers, which critics saw as a wider grab for personal data from the social network. The backlash saw an exodus of millions of users from WhatsApp to other privacy services, which at one point caused an outage for rival chat service Signal.
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Amber Neely
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Marko Zivkovic
17 Comments
These assholes are caught between a rock and a hard place. For all their protestations about consumers being harmed by Apple’s privacy policies the consumers are flipping them the bird. Following Apple’s requirements means less advertising revenue. Threatening their customers with fees or restrictions is blowing up on their faces, showing the world their abject disdain for the source of their wealth... their customers.
Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Bad boys, bad boys.
Not only could FaceBook find ways to persuade users to permit tracking, but they could also ask other companies to put the same pressure on their users before FaceBook will let those companies access FaceBook's online services. I'm not sure if that behavior would be monopolistic or illegal, but hey, we're dealing with the devil here.
Too little, too late. I’ve already gone to Signal (not that the world revolves around me, mind) and shan’t be back.