WhatsApp agrees to be more transparent in its policy changes

WhatsApp accepted the requests from the European Union after receiving complaints from consumer organizations.

WhatsApp has agreed to be more transparent about future privacy policy changes, the European Union has announced .

Now the app will explain all the changes in the contracts of the European Commission users and how these will affect their rights, also allowing them to accept or reject the changes.

block pressure

Consumer bodies across Europe saw WhatsApp ‘s 2021 policy change as a key point , leading to a large exodus of users to other services such as Signal and Telegram .

The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) and the European Network of Consumer Authorities told WhatsApp that it had failed to clarify the changes in plain and intelligible language, violating the bloc’s laws.

WhatsApp has also reconfirmed that the personal data of users is not shared with third parties or other Meta companies for advertising purposes.

“Consumers have the right to understand what they agree to and what that choice specifically entails, so they can decide whether they want to continue using the platform,” said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.

WhatsApp and Europe

Policy changes to WhatsApp in 2021 caused great terror among users who believed that the application would read private conversations.

European data protection authorities, which under the European Union’s strict privacy laws have the power to fine companies 4% of global annual revenue if they break the bloc’s rules, have already raised concerns about the use of the data of users of the app. Facebook has already said in the past that it would not combine WhatsApp data with that of other services such as Facebook itself, but it did not comply, being fined $134 million in 2014.