WhatsApp has revealed what will happen to the accounts of those users who, after May 15, have not accepted its new conditions of use.
The new terms of use for WhatsApp have been the subject of controversy in recent weeks. In fact, the company was forced to step back and postpone its entry into force to buy time and explain the changes to its users.
The new effective date is May 15. But what happens if a person does not accept the new conditions before that date? This is what the company says on its own website:
WhatsApp will not delete your account. However, you will not have access to all WhatsApp features until you accept them. For a short time, you will be able to receive calls and notifications, but you will not be able to read or send messages from the application.
The new WhatsApp conditions may be accepted by users of the platform even after May 15. However, the company clarifies that the "policy related to inactive users" will be applied. It exposes the following:
Generally, WhatsApp accounts that are inactive for more than 120 days are deleted in order to maintain security, limit data retention, and protect user privacy. It is considered that there is inactivity when the user does not connect to WhatsApp.
As of May 15, therefore, those users who have not accepted the new conditions will not be able to use the application normally. If, after 120 days from that date, they have not entered the application and accepted the new terms, their account will be automatically deleted from the platform.
The controversy surrounding the conditions of WhatsApp
The new WhatsApp conditions imply that the company can share certain data of its users with Facebook. This caused an important controversy among the users of the platform, who fear for their privacy.
However, there are several nuances to take into account regarding these new conditions. First of all, the messages sent through the platform are end-to-end encrypted. This means that only the sender and receiver can know its content. Neither WhatsApp nor any possible intermediary could get to read them. Therefore, once the new terms of use are accepted, Facebook will not be able to access the messages sent through the platform and use them to display advertising.
Another point to take into account is that these new conditions will not affect the citizens of the European Union due to the existing regulation in the region and the current agreements with regulators.
The company, a few weeks ago, clarified the purpose of the new policy in a statement:
The update includes new options for people who share messages with companies on WhatsApp and provides greater transparency regarding how we collect and use data. Although nowadays not all users make purchases from companies on WhatsApp, we believe that more and more people will choose to do so in the future, so it is important that they know the services well. The update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook.
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