An update to WhatsApp’s privacy policy states that data from the popular messaging app will automatically be shared with Facebook after February 8.
However, the adaptation does not apply to the EU, where the social media giant seems to accept the European watchdog’s demands.
WhatsApp users have received a notification since Wednesday informing them of an update in the service’s privacy policy. The message mentions several significant changes. They relate to user data processing and how companies can use Facebook services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats.
Outside Europe, WhatsApp is also entering into a partnership with Facebook to ‘better integrate this platform’s products into WhatsApp’. Facebook has been WhatsApp’s parent company since 2014.
The changes will take effect on February 8. WhatsApp users can only continue to use the app if they agree to the update. In Europe, the consequences of the adjustment remain limited for the time being.
‘Currently, Facebook does not use your WhatsApp account information to improve your experience on Facebook products or to provide you with a more relevant advertising experience on Facebook’, can be read, for example, in the updated privacy policy for Belgium.
But elsewhere in the world, things will soon be shared with Facebook, including a person’s phone number, information about interactions, data about the device, the IP address and “other information collected based on consent.”
