WhatsApp Delays Privacy Policy Updates Until May

WhatsApp Application (Photo by Oleg Magni on Pexels)

JAKARTA - Earlier this month, WhatsApp shared an announcement regarding the company's plans to implement a new privacy policy. This policy makes WhatsApp entitled to share user data with platforms owned by Facebook, such as Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook itself.

Yesterday, Friday, January 15th, the company distributed a new announcement. WhatsApp said it would postpone updating its new privacy policy - which was originally planned to take place on February 8.

Through a release distributed by the company, this delay is a step taken to clear up confusion that occurs in the community. According to the company's explanation, many rumors have circulated about the types of data that can be shared.

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

Therefore, WhatsApp also tries to clear up this prejudice and confusion so that users don't panic in the face of privacy policy updates.

“WhatsApp was built on a simple idea: what you share with friends or family stays with the user. This means that we (WhatsApp) will always protect your private conversations with end-to-end encryption, so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook are able to see these messages, ”explained WhatsApp via an official release, Friday, January 15.

Therefore, the company continued, the Facebook-owned messaging platform claims that it does not store logs of user phone activity and messages. In addition, the company also stated that it could not see the location of the user's device and share user data with Facebook.

“From this update (privacy policy), nothing has changed. In fact, the update includes a consumer service feature on WhatsApp and further transparency in how we collect data and use it, ”WhatsApp wrote.

In order to clarify and give users time to really understand the situation, WhatsApp also plans to postpone the update of its privacy policy. From 8 February to 15 May.

"We pushed back the (renewal) date so that users can review and accept the terms imposed. Not a single account was suspended or deleted on February 8, "concluded WhatsApp.

Previously, WhatsApp's move to provide an update to the Privacy Policy invited controversy. Many readers and the media understand it as WhatsApp's attempt to share company data on more platforms - especially Facebook Inc's platforms such as Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook itself.

As a result, according to a report by Sensor Tower via The Independent, the number of WhatsAp installations has dropped. During the period January 5-12, this messaging application was only downloaded 2 million times.

This number is far less than its competitors, namely Telegram and Signal - where Signal was downloaded 17.8 million times and Telegram reached 15.7 million in the same time period.