Whatsapp stated on Friday that it isn’t going to enforce updates to its data-sharing policy until May 15, a few weeks after the news created uncertainty among the users, exposed the app to the lawsuit, and stirred a national investigation.
The firm said in a blog post, “We are moving on the date where people accept new terms. We will suspend the account on February 8. We will also clear the misinformation about the security on WhatsApp. WhatsApp has been quite successful and it has also helped a 90-year-old woman find her family after 43 years.
The messaging app provides services to around two billion users who stated that it was delaying enforcement of new terms, over worldwide confusion. The main aim of the privacy update is to give users time to review the terms.
“We have heard from several people about the confusion about our recent update. There has been a lot of misinformation. We want to help people understand our facts,” stated the company earlier this week.
Many people have stated that personal communication is compromised. However, according to WhatsApp, this wasn’t the issue. Facebook which bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, has shared less information about its users with social media giants since 2016.
“After this update, this isn’t changing. Instead, these WhatsApp, which Facebook bought for $19 billion, has shared information with the media giant and for a period allowed people to get out of this.
After this backlash, millions of angered and confused users have flocked Telegram and Signal. Earlier this week, Signal was the top app on the App Store on Google Play Store in 18.
The co-founder of Signal, chairman Brian Acton stated that “The smallest events can give biggest outcomes. We are excited that there is a conversation about privacy and digital safety. We are also happy that people have finally turned to Signal to get the answer to all their questions.”
