This was an opportunity to listen and engage, not to blitz users with slick PR while sticking to Plan A. But the way WhatsApp has managed this situation might just change that advice. I said there was no reason to ditch WhatsApp, that the issue around the change of terms had been overblown.
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Updated terms and privacy policy WhatsAppīack in January, I advised users to stick with WhatsApp, albeit to maybe trial other options, particularly Signal, in parallel. On January 15 th, WhatsApp said “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.” But the media is reporting that deletions will take place and that’s not being corrected.Įven WhatsApp appeared confused over its plans as it delayed the February 8 deadline for accepting the new terms. WhatsApp hasn't said it will delete accounts after that “short time,” or even how long a grace period that is. Inactivity means the user hasn’t connected to WhatsApp.”Īll of this is confusing. “To maintain security, limit data retention, and protect the privacy of our users, WhatsApp accounts are generally deleted after 120 days of inactivity. In WhatsApp’s terminology, your account will seemingly become “inactive.” And here WhatsApp’s policy is clear. So, what does this actually mean? You will still be able to access the account for a while, albeit you won’t be able to read or send any messages. WhatsApp says that “if you haven’t accepted by, WhatsApp will not delete your account,” but you will, effectively, lose use of your account after “a short time.” For a short time,” it says, “you'll be able to receive calls and notifications, but won't be able to read or send messages from the app.”
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After that, WhatsApp has now confirmed in a not especially helpful FAQ, “you won't have full functionality of WhatsApp until you accept. You now have a few weeks to accept WhatsApp’s new terms. WhatsApp’s privacy issue is not going to be put back into its Pandora’s Box. But the change has opened WhatsApp to belated scrutiny on its metadata-and that has not gone well. As WhatsApp says, it needs to sell services to keep the messenger free.
Who cares about the security of your messages with your dry cleaner or supermarket-especially given you have opted in each specific chat? But it still breaks WhatsApp’s existing data handling terms and so the change needs to be made. If you do, though, some of those messages might be stored off of WhatsApp, outside its fabled end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp’s owner, Facebook, wants to enable its business customers to communicate with you on WhatsApp, and only if you agree to those contacts. The change of terms is more benign than it was (mis)reported at the time. WhatsApp’s specific backlash has been blown out of proportion. Facebook reported $28.1 billion in revenues last quarter-it’s not scraping a living. It is impossible to argue that the data collection is proportionate with the services on offer.
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Ironically, most users accept that some form of data collection is a price worth paying for free platforms. What they’re not entitled to do is obfuscate, to talk around the subject and refuse to provide transparency, to say that it’s an inevitable and intangible part of this free service they offer. We, as users, can then choose whether that’s acceptable to us or not.
And they are completely entitled to say we collect certain data fields and use those to send you ads that might be relevant. You have the right to know what’s being collected and how it’s being used. But there was no word on exactly what was being used, and how. We collect it because we need it, was the message. It seemed that WhatsApp’s was taking the view that the backlash would blow over and we would all forget.
More importantly, the rationale behind collecting all this data in the first place was downplayed. The fact this isn’t new is hardly the point. But suddenly WhatsApp had shone a light on the fact that there is some data sharing. It’s all good, WhatsApp said, we don’t share all your data with Facebook. The second part of that backlash, the forced change of terms, hit hard because it seemed WhatsApp was collecting this data and sharing it with Facebook-that was the misreporting.
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