It has been two years since
WhatsApp has been owned by Facebook but now WhatsApp’s privacy policy has
changed, a first in four years and it hints the future is going to be very
different for the world’s most popular messaging app. The change that has
everyone talking is the deeper integration with Facebook, which is not surprising
given the social media giant owns the app.
On the Facebook integration, one
thing is clear. There will be some information sharing, although WhatsApp promises no messages or photos
will be shared with Facebook. This is what WhatsApp says on the info-sharing
with Facebook.
We plan to share some information
with Facebook and the Facebook family of companies that will allow us to
coordinate more, such as to fight spam and abuse, and improve experiences
across our services and those of Facebook and the Facebook family. For example,
once you have accepted our updated Terms and Privacy Policy, we will share some
of your account information with Facebook and the Facebook family of companies,
like the phone number you verified when you registered with WhatsApp, as well
as the last time you used our service.
This information includes the
device used, online status, usage and log information. WhatsApp carefully
points out in the FAQ it won’t share any information ‘onto’ Facebook or other
Facebook apps, but yes data-sharing will happen. The reasoning, to help improve
ad experiences, to more accurately count unique users and fight spam and abuse.
Exactly how Facebook ads will improve with WhatsApp information is left
unclear, but there is more.
WhatsApp is also getting ready to
welcome services such as banks, airlines on the app, an idea that has been
discussed earlier as well. WhatsApp’s latest blog says this “These services are
coming soon, and they will start testing it on the app”. For WhatsApp, which
has never actually made any money, and is still not serving ads, this is one
way of generating revenue.
And yes it could make the app
even more potent in its fight against SMS and other players, especially an app
like Telegram. WhatsApp plans to be even more indispensable to the user by
integrating services, rather than an app where people keep sharing ‘good
morning messages’
Here’s how you can opt out
The privacy policy reads,
“We will
allow you and third parties, like businesses, to communicate with each other
using WhatsApp, such as through order, transaction, and appointment
information, delivery and shipping notifications, product and service updates,
and marketing. For example, you may receive flight status information for
upcoming travel, a receipt for something you purchased, or a notification when
a delivery will be made. Messages you may receive containing marketing could
include an offer for something that might interest you.”
WhatsApp promises no spam, but
the last bit in particular reads like advertising could be coming to the app,
perhaps in a subtler form. So yes, your bank or favourite e-commerce site might
soon be interacting with you on WhatsApp, and don’t be surprised if they
message about some cashback scheme or discount on your credit card. How good
WhatsApp controls this kind of messaging will be watched closely. But it will
mark a significant departure from how WhatsApp has been viewed, an app that was
strictly about no ads.
Copyrighted material on WhatsApp
could land you in trouble
Finally, WhatsApp is also looking
at copyrighted content, and now wants to help people, organisations “protect
their intellectual property rights”. According to the privacy policy, if
someone reports a copyright infringement, then WhatsApp could crackdown;
infringement could include profile pictures, profile name, etc. Whether it will
apply to video or movies, or music that people might be sharing on WhatsApp is
not clear, because technically the app is end-to-end encrypted and the company
says it doesn’t read or store a user’s message on its servers.
But in cases where people’s
profile photos are stolen to create another WhatsApp account, this might be a
lot more useful, and it makes sense given the 1 billion users now on the app.
Overall the privacy policy change
was long due. For Facebook which owns WhatsApp, revenue has always been a
concern. And WhatsApp with its 1 billion users will now start taking that goal
a lot more seriously.
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