WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

Facebook's WhatsApp said on Thursday it will go ahead with its controversial privacy policy update but will allow users to read it at "their own pace" and will also display a banner providing additional information, NDTV reported.

The messaging platform laid out fresh terms in January, aimed at increasing business transactions on the platform.

The policy update would allow owner Facebook and its subsidiaries to collect user data, including their phone number and location, which sparked a global outcry and a rush of new users to competitors Telegram and Signal, among others.

WhatsApp then moved to delay the new policy launch to May from February and sought to clarify the update was focused on allowing users to message with businesses and would not affect personal conversations, which will continue to have end-to-end encryption.

In its latest blog post, WhatsApp said it will start reminding users to review and accept updates to keep using the messaging platform.

In a few weeks, WhatsApp will begin to roll out a small, in-app banner that will ask users to re-review the privacy policies — a change the company said users have shown to prefer over the pop-up, full-screen alert it displayed before.

When users click on "to review," they'll be shown a deeper summary of the changes, including added details about how WhatsApp works with Facebook. The changes stress that WhatsApp's updates don't impact the privacy of users' conversations, and reiterate the information about the optional business features.

Eventually, WhatsApp will begin to remind users to review and accept its updates to keep using WhatsApp. According to its prior announcement, it won't be enforcing the new policy until May 15.

(with minor edits from NDTV)