WhatsApp Is Just Doing Business Like Every Other Internet Company

WhatsApp's privacy policy was recently updated by the parent company Facebook. Those who don't want to accept these policies might have to stop using WhatsApp from February 2021.

It now pretty clear that the parent company Facebook wants to integrate some of the data across the services. Do note that, these new regulations are not applicable to people who live in the Europian region.

Things You Should Not Worry

According to the official documentation, WhatsApp will collect information, which varies from user to user. The company also claims that it will notify the user when information is collected. If you don't want to provide that information, then you won't be able to use WhatsApp.

While creating an account, one should give information like the phone number and desired user name. Users who deny providing these services won't be able to use WhatsApp on either Android or iOS smartphone.

WhatsApp has also confirmed that the company will not store messages on cloud servers. However, the company claims that a message might be stored for 30 days if it is undelivered, that too in an encrypted form. Do note that, the company will store media, again in an encrypted format to offer an efficient forwarding process.

Things You Should Worry

WhatsApp has also confirmed that the platform might collect the phone numbers from the address book on a regular basis. On top of that, the company might also collect status information, from those, who use the status feature.

If you are using WhatsApp Pay, then, the app is likely to collect payment account and transaction information, which will include details like, shipping details and transaction amount.

WhatsApp will also collect information like usage and log, device connection information, location information, and cookies. All this information will be used to research, develop, and to test new products. And WhatsApp has clearly confirmed that it will never introduce third-party ad banners.

They Also Want To Make Money

Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 Billion back in 2014 and has been offering this service for free of cost. Unlike some of the other services from Facebook, WhatsApp did not have ads or promotion features to earn money, and there was no sustainable business model.

With these new privacy policies, the company might collect some information, which could be used to make money. By doing this, Facebook can continue to offer WhatsApp as a free service. If you are not compliant with these new policies, you can always delete WhatsApp, and the company confirms to delete all your information, including phone number and profile picture from the servers.