Will WhatsApp Take Back Its New Privacy Policy, In India? All That Has Happened So Far

 

WhatsApp says that anyone who still hasn’t accepted the new terms of service, will be sent persistent reminders after which features will start getting inaccessible.

There is no getting around this. WhatsApp is making some pretty big changes to its privacy policy which you now have to accept, if you are to continue using the messaging app. You now have a clearer picture of how much of your data is being shared. In the new privacy policy and terms of use, which WhatsApp simply calls “update", the Facebook-owned app details how WhatsApp’s service handles your data as well as how WhatsApp partners with the larger Facebook platform to allow integrations across multiple apps, including Instagram and Facebook Messenger. Three large buckets under which the new terms have been categorized. How businesses can manage their chats using Facebook tools, more information about how WhatsApp works including how your data is processed and illustrations of how your data ties in with the larger Facebook app ecosystem requirements called “how we work with Facebook".

Have you accepted the new privacy policy? WhatsApp says that for anyone who still hasn’t accepted their new terms of service, which WhatsApp calls “update", they will first be sent persistent reminders to accept the new terms to use the app. While there is no specific window mentioned for the duration these persistent reminders would last or how persistent they would be, WhatsApp says that if you still don’t accept, there will be consequences. Till you accept. First, your access to the chat list within WhatsApp will be restricted, which means you won’t be able to see messages in what is essentially an instant messaging app. If you have notifications enabled on your phone, you’ll be able to see incoming messages in the notification itself and reply from there. You’ll able to answer incoming WhatsApp voice and video calls for the time being. While all this is playing out, let us take a look at what has unfolded so far and how we have reached this point in time, where WhatsApp’s new privacy policy is the cause for such a debate.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has once again directed Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp to take back its new Privacy Policy. In a communication sent to WhatsApp on 18th May, 2021 the Ministry has once again told WhatsApp to withdraw its Privacy Policy 2021 as the changes to the Privacy Policy and the manner of introducing these changes including in FAQ undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security, and user choice for Indian users and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens.