WhatsApp Delays Privacy Changes after Angry Reactions

WhatsApp postponed on Friday an update aimed at increasing business transactions on the platform, after a storm of concern from users who feared that the messaging platform was watering down its privacy policy in the process. According to news reportes, the update sparked global outcries and a rush of new users to competitor private messaging apps including Telegram and Signal.

Meanwhile, the firm reported that the update was focused on allowing users to message with businesses, and that the update does not affect personal conversations, which will continue to have end-to-end encryption.

"While not everyone shops with a business on WhatsApp today, we think that more people will choose to do so in the future and it’s important people are aware of these services," the firm said.

On other hand, Facebook has been rolling out business tools on WhatsApp over the past year as it moves to boost revenue from higher-growth units like WhatsApp and Instagram while knitting together e-commerce infrastructure across the company.

On October, the app noted that it would start to offer in-app purchases via Facebook Shops and would offer firms who use its customer service messaging tools the ability to store those messages on Facebook servers.

Noteworthy, Facebook aims to monetize WhatsApp by allowing businesses to contact clients via the platform, making it natural for the internet giant to centralize some data on its servers.

Also, Turkey’s antitrust board opned on past Monday, an investigation with Facebook and its messaging service WhatsApp, after the messaging app forced users to either agree to let Facebook collect user data including phone numbers and locations or have their accounts deleted., according to Bloomberg report.

Meanwhile, the Competition Board reported it ruled that the requirement to allow the collection of that data should be suspended until the probe is complete. Even if users accepted rules, due to the potential for irreparable losses, until the conclusion of the investigation.

https://twitter.com/WhatsApp/status/1350166558862053377