Android Community
May 26, 2021
While the rest of the world will have to deal with the new privacy policy that WhatsApp has controversially enacted, folks in India will not be “punished” for not accepting the new terms. WhatsApp says that they are complying with the letter that the Indian government has sent them and will not limit users who will not accept the new policy. At least not yet. However, they will not totally withdraw it and will continue to remind people to click “Agree & Continue”.
Ever since news of a new privacy policy came out, WhatsApp has been doing an all-out communication campaign to clarify the misunderstood policy. They keep reminding users that it will not affect personal messages but will provide additional information on interacting with businesses. This went into effect last May 15 and while your account will not be deleted if you refuse to accept, the app will eventually become useless once they start limiting what you can do.
WhatsApp, government find middle ground on privacy policy but that makes data law even more important
WhatsApp has given some relief to its users by confirming that it will not restrict their experience for not accepting platform’s new privacy policy.
advertisement
WhatsApp’s new privacy policy was first announced in January.
HIGHLIGHTS
The platform will maintain stance till PDP law comes into effect.
India will need to come up with strong data protection law.
WhatsApp has given some relief to its users by confirming that it will not restrict their experience for not accepting platform’s new privacy policy. The clarification came after Indian government’s notice to Facebook-owned messaging platform, accusing it of biasness towards the Indian users. The government had also warned of action under the Indian law if the policy is not rolled back. The instant messaging platform and the Indian government might have found a middle ground for now, but it has made the propose
By
HIGHLIGHTS
Such users will keep getting prompts to accept new terms.
This approach will continue till the Personal Data Protection laws come into effect. Whatsapp will not restrict features for Indian users who don t accept new privacy policy
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently directed WhatsApp to backtrack its controversial privacy policy that went into effect on May 15. In response to MeitY’s letter, WhatsApp has now assured that it will not restrict services and features for users who do not accept its latest privacy policy. At least, not for now. We have responded to the Government of India s letter and assured them that the privacy of users remains our highest priority. We will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works in the coming weeks. Instead, we will continue to remind users from time to time about the update, said a WhatsApp spokesperson in a statement given to Reuters.
WhatsApp on Monday noted that it had replied to MeitY’s letter noting that the company will continue to follow the approach which requires users to accept the new terms of service. However, those not accepting the new policy will not lose the app features immediately.
New Delhi, May 25
WhatsApp on Monday said it will not limit the functionality for users not agreeing to its new privacy policy but will continue to remind users about the update, and “maintain