WhatsApp has announced that it won’t delete or deactivate the accounts of users who don’t want to share their information with Facebook as the messaging company rolls out it controversial policy this weekend.
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The Facebook owned company says in a support article that was seen by Bleeping Computer, “No one will have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of WhatsApp on May 15th because of this update.” Rather, WhatsApp will progressively limit the functionality an account can access until they accept the new privacy policy.
This means that if you are scared of sharing your personal data with Facebook… you’ll still be able to continue using WhatsApp as usual for some weeks. However, WhatsApp will be sending you persistent notifications to accept its updated privacy policy.
Speaking about what happens if a user still ignores the request to update the policy, the company said, “At that time, you’ll encounter limited functionality on WhatsApp until you accept the updates.”
Users will first lose access to their chat list. The only way the app will allow users to message or call is if they contact a user first and the person tap on the notification from WhatsApp.
After several more weeks, the app will stop sending messages and calls to a user’s phone altogether. The exact moment the process starts for individual holdouts will be different for others.
If you manage to get to the second stage, your options are limited if you don’t accept the policy at that point. You can export your chat history or download a report of your account. You can also delete it because WhatsApp warns that’s something it can’t reverse.
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It may not matter much at that point since WhatApps part of a separate policy, automatically deletes accounts after 120 days of inactivity.
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