WhatsApp issues clarification on their new privacy policy amid row; many users still unsure about data safety and privacy

Shikha Chaurasia

Pune, January 15, 2021: The Facebook-owned WhatsApp messenger has about 400 million users in India. Recently, the app introduced a new privacy policy which has raised concerns amongst the people and many users are shifting to other platforms like Telegram and Signal.

Apps like Telegram and Signal either don’t collect any user data at all or they only store basic user information. Signal app download has crossed the one million mark as users are looking for alternatives.

The latest update will let Facebook access commercial user data on WhatsApp which will help advertisers target consumers with relevant and customised ads on the company’s family of apps including Instagram. The new privacy policy issued by WhatsApp also states that it is mandatory to accept the new policy otherwise the user’s account will be deleted. The new policy is going to come into effect from February.

However, in order to pacify the users, WhatsApp has issued a clarification stating that WhatsApp protects user’s messages with end-to-end encryption. They further gave information about what they do not share with Facebook-

· WhatsApp cannot see your private messages or hear your calls and neither can Facebook.

· WhatsApp does keep logs of who everyone is messaging or calling.

· WhatsApp cannot see your shared location and neither can Facebook.

· WhatsApp does not share your contacts with Facebook.

· WhatsApp groups remain private.

· You can set your messages to disappear.

· You can download your data.

In a survey carried out by Punekarnews.in regarding data privacy and WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, it was found out that 51.6% people answered that they have concerns with the new policy while 29.2% answered that they weren’t sure and only 19.3% felt that they saw no concern with the new policy.

When asked if they would prefer any other social media platform, 37.4% said that they would prefer Telegram, 20.6% said that they would prefer Signal and 41.9% said that they would prefer a completely different platform.

In the survey, 64.6% of people said that they would accept the new WhatsApp policy as they do not have any other alternative while 35.4% said that they will not accept the new policy.

The most important question was if people felt whether their data is safe with the social media platform they are using and 62.1% answered no while 31.1% answered they weren’t sure and only 6.8% of people felt that their data is safe.

In conclusion, an ethical approach to data privacy and protection is necessary. The companies should-

· Not use or divulge personal or commercial data.

· Not use or divulge any other personal data without the customer’s explicit, separate and individual consent.

· Not store, use or divulge any customer data unless applicable laws or regulations require the company to continue storing such data.