This post was most recently updated on 20th May, 2021
In a recent update pushed by WhatsApp on 6th Jan 2021, they are indirectly saying WhatsApp New Privacy Policy Update governs your Security, just Accept it or Leave Platform- WhatsApp.
UPDATE– Story has taken a new turn now & you have time till May 15th 2021 again, if you don’t accept it this time then its your Last Change, not your WhatsApp account will be Deleted but you will be tortured until its a Dead App & then they Delete your Account.
New Update about WhatsApp New Privacy Policy announced for May 15th 2021-
Update by Indian IT Ministry on WhatsApp Policy-
From another point Indian IT Ministry again send WhatsApp an ultimatum to take down its New Privacy Policy from India & have given Deadline till 25th May 2021 for response otherwise precautionary actions can be taken against Facebook owned WhatsApp soon if they fail for answering draft of questions or deny Ministry call.
In January when WhatsApp first introduced its new Policy to India then as well a Notice was send to them giving cleanlines for response but no answer came back, you can read that news from below but again they have send it, this time its serious & seems effective by words, failing or ignorance can lead to kickoffs.
In the communication sent late on Tuesday, the IT ministry has given WhatsApp time till May 25 to respond to the new notice, failing which “all necessary steps in consonance with the law” could be taken against the platform.- Indian Express
“We have a sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens. The government will consider various options available under the law,” a senior IT ministry official said.
The latest communication sent to WhatsApp, the officials said, has reiterated that “the changes to the privacy policy and the manner of introducing these changes including in FAQ (frequently asked questions) undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indian users and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens”.
“This approach has the potential to infringe on core values of data privacy, user choice and autonomy of Indian users. Given the huge user base of WhatsApp and Facebook in India, the consolidation of this sensitive information also exposes a very large segment of Indian citizens to greater information security risk and vulnerabilities creating a potential honeypot of information,” the IT ministry said in the letter to Cathcart.
“As you are doubtlessly aware, many Indian citizens depend on WhatsApp to communicate in everyday life. It is not just problematic, but also irresponsible, for WhatsApp to leverage this position to impose unfair terms and conditions on Indian users, particularly those that discriminate against Indian users vis-à-vis users in Europe,” the new notice read.
Source- Indian Express & Google News
WhatsApp users will be required to either accept the updated privacy policy and terms of service or start losing their access to the app from May 15, 2021.
WhatsApp started sending in-app notifications to its users about a change in its Terms of Service and its Privacy Policy. WhatsApp users in India received a notification prompt on both their iOS and Android devices to accept the new Terms of Service and privacy policy, failing to comply with these leads to non-deletion of acc but loosing of some major features from app like Messaging, Calls, etc. etc. (but a lot more is hidden inside)
Have you Watched Tweet above? Read below Tweet by WhatsApp in thread under small area, they mentioned that they are giving time to users to understand their new Privacy Policy but not abounded them, roll them back, cancel or suspend them in any way. Means WhatsApp have no plans to Cancel their Privacy policies they issued earlier, instead they gave you time from February till May to makeup your Mind.
What does that mean? Currently & why it matters?
As you can read above, “If you don’t accept the Policies by WhatsApp, your App Features will be reduced and locked to limited or your account seems unactive for more than 120 Days then it will be Deleted but till then you can take account backup, will be kept safe”- WhatsApp says, do you suggest it sounds like giving “Slow Poison?”, maybe we are over exaggerating but truth is only this. Facebook is forcing you to accept terms of their line at any cost by locking you up in a cage messing up things so you accept what they say in lure. They want Indian’s to bow down in front of them & expose off yourself for Sale.
Video Embedded on Top explains every bit you want to know but based on early news, still there is no major changes, everything is same as earlier but a streamline is provided to die down slow to switch from base. Term “Account Deletion is no more now” but putting “Limitations gradually with time on User Account” can be said a twisted version of knocking you down.
Remember– WhatsApp can’t or won’t Cancel their New Privacy Policies (do keep this in mind without giving yourself fake hopes), all they can do is if they accept then they can create data centers in India but all this data will be saved even then or can be used. (Why?), because if they want to do so then they have to almost create a new version of it which is not possible at all for India. If they have not done this till now so keeping hopes is just like burning fire under water (useless).
It was already confirmed way back when they delayed plan & was covered by International media as well but no 1 tried to focus at that time & we also knew it will come back again so here we are at the same turning point again.
Rest we have given some efficient Alternatives of WhatsApp which you can definitely check scrolling at the Last of this Article.
BackStory of WhatsApp Policy February 2021-
But it’s India so no effect was seen on WhatsApp of Indian Ministry’s Letter, WhatsApp just ignored it like many Politicians are ignored in India. Therefore Table’s Boss is still in Center (WhatsApp) strong on its point.
The Facebook-owned messaging app updated its privacy policies on its website and shared a comprehensive overview of how WhatsApp will change. Key updates:
WhatsApp New Privacy Policy Update governs your Security- Accept it or Leave the Platform (A Digital Dadagiri for all)
- How WhatsApp’s service and it processes the data of the users
- How businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats
- How it partners with Facebook to offer integrations across the Facebook company products
What new Privacy Policy of WhatsApp say?
You can read the full text of privacy policy- Here
“Our Services have optional features which, if used by you, require us to collect additional information to provide such features. You will be notified of such a collection, as appropriate. If you choose not to provide the information needed to use a feature, you will be unable to use the feature. For example, you cannot share your location with your contacts if you do not permit us to collect your location data from your device. Permissions can be managed through your Settings menu on both Android and iOS devices,” it stated.
“We collect information about your activity on our Services, like service-related, diagnostic, and performance information. This includes information about your activity (including how you use our Services, your Services settings, how you interact with others using our Services (including when you interact with a business), and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities and interactions), log files, and diagnostic, crash, website, and performance logs and reports,” it wrote.
“This also includes information about when you registered to use our Services; the features you use like our messaging, calling, Status, groups (including group name, group picture, group description), payments or business features; profile photo, “about” information; whether you are online, when you last used our Services (your last seen); and when you last updated your “about” information,” WhatsApp added.
The privacy policy had earlier mentioned that WhatsApp would receive information from the Facebook Group of companies and they will also share information with them, though it was noted, “Your WhatsApp messages will not be shared into Facebook for others to see. In fact, Facebook will not use your WhatsApp messages for any purpose other than to assist us in operating and providing our Services.” This particular statement is no longer in the privacy policy.
However, WhatsApp does elaborate on how the information exchange with Facebook will be utilised. This includes:
- Helping improve infrastructure and delivery systems;
- Understanding how WhatsApp’s Services or theirs (Facebook and other Facebook companies) are used;
- Promoting safety, security and integrity across the Facebook Company Products, e.g., securing systems and fighting spam, threats, abuse, or infringement activities;
- Improving Facebook’s services and users experiences around them, such as making suggestions for users (for example, of friends or group connections, or of interesting content), personalizing features and content, helping users complete purchases and transactions, and showing relevant offers and ads across the Facebook Company Products;
- Providing integrations which enable users to connect their WhatsApp experiences with other Facebook Company Products. One example given is allowing users to connect their Facebook Pay account to pay for things on WhatsApp or enabling users to chat with friends on other Facebook Company Products, such as Portal, by connecting the WhatsApp account.
WhatsApp says that the “continued use of our Services confirms your acceptance of our Terms, as amended”. In reality the updated privacy policy and terms of service don’t show any shocking new revelations. It is just that there is now greater clarity on certain aspects of how WhatsApp, Facebook as well as other third-party services access, manage and use your data.
Why you should be worried about New Privacy and Terms Policy of WhatsApp, how it’s Ruling?
First, they made everyone paralysed and now on Accept point Mark is asking everyone to give what they want. After accepting these policies you are indirectly agreeing to crush down your security. Facebook or WhatsApp is saying that Messages will be End to End Encrypted but that’s all for saying as if it’s encrypted then what do they Send to Affiliates? have you thought of it? It’s not easy to move from WhatsApp but if you don’t do it now so in future you will be a puppet of these Companies and they move you as they want. Also we know how Encrypted WhatsApp is, seen under so many cases previously.
- Being Puppet of an App even after being literate
- Letting them rule over your life and giving them access of everything they want
- We use WhatsApp for many different things and Document sharing, even private passwords and stuff that too can also be stored by WhatsApp & its Partners
- Your all Private information can be in Hand of Facebook
- Facebook is known for its Fraud and Security scams since 2015 and Worlds Biggest Data Manipulation scandal so if they have everything then you can thing of disaster.
- You can be used as a personal product and if anytime data get leaked, whatever you shared throughout can be in the hand of anyone in seconds.
- You can be used as Byproduct against this Privacy and Terms. Remember private info is more valuable than jewelry as it defines you.
What are some useful WhatsApp Alternatives-
- Telegram or Private Chat opt on Telegram for E2E
- Signal (Highly Rec.)
- Discord
- Snapchat
- Viber
- Hike
- Google Messages
- Text Message
- Sandes GIMS Messenger
What we urge you is to share this post with others and ask our Government that what they think of this Update and shift yourself from WhatsApp to some other alternative soon as possible and don’t be the filthy for an App at least. Stand strong and show your power.
Edited by- Amogh Gupta (Invincible AG)
