The Indian government asked WhatsApp yesterday (January 19) to pull out its new privacy policy and following that order, the Facebook-owned messaging platform has said that it is “working to address misinformation” and is open to answer all queries.
“We wish to reinforce that this update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook. Our aim is to provide transparency and new options available to engage with businesses so they can serve their customers and grow. WhatsApp will always protect personal messages with end-to-end encryption so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see them. We are working to address misinformation and remain available to answer any questions,” a WhatsApp representative said in a statement.
WhatsApp’s new privacy policy got a large numbers of its users worried about the privacy and the safety of their data and chats. The platform has explained that data and chat sharing will just occur on account of chats with businesses on the platform and all private chats remain untouched, encrypted and secure. However, users don’t seem convinced and downloads of other messaging platforms, like Signal and Telegram, have witnessed massive spikes.
WhatsApp had at first said it would roll the new policy on February 8 and if you had not accepted it by then, at that point, you would be not able to use the application. After the backlash, WhatsApp has pushed the date of the turn out to May this year, giving itself an opportunity to clarify its position and time to users to understand what’s going on.
The Indian government has not just requested that WhatsApp pull out the new policy but also asked the platform to respond to some critical queries on data policy and privacy within a week’s time.
