Facebook caves in: WhatsApp users who don't accept the new privacy policy won't have their accounts deleted

Martin Brinkmann
Jun 3, 2021
Updated • Jun 3, 2021
Facebook
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WhatsApp users who don't accept the new privacy policies of the service won't have their accounts deleted or functionality limited, after all.

Facebook introduced updated terms of service and a new privacy policy for its popular messaging service some time ago. The company extended the deadline once but stuck to May 15, 2021 despite far reaching user protests and media coverage on the situation.

Users of WhatsApp who would not accept the new terms and the privacy policy would have their functionality limited up until recently. The staged reduction of functionality would remove the ability to initiate chats or calls before options to respond to chats or calls would be removed as well, and eventually the termination of the account.

whatsapp facebook privacy update

A published FAQ page about the changes and consequences of not accepting the terms and new policy on the WhatsApp website was updated recently, and it appears that Facebook had a change of heart.

According to the updated FAQ, accounts of users who don't accept the new privacy policy or terms won't be deleted after all, and the functionality won't be reduced as well.

What happens on the effective date?
No one will have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of WhatsApp on May 15th because of this update.

Facebook notes that the new privacy policy and terms were accepted by the majority of users already, and that users who have not accepted them will continue to see the notification when WhatsApp is used.

The reminder won't become persistent anymore, something that the company planned to do previously.

Users may be exposed to options to accept the new terms and privacy policy according to the update, for instance when they re-register WhatsApp or "use a feature that's related" to the update for the first time.

Closing Words

Facebook does not reveal why it decided to change course, but a likely explanation is that its strict course led to users leaving the platform. Competing services noticed huge gains in user numbers after Facebook made the announcement.

Nothing is going to change for WhatsApp users who have not accepted the terms and privacy policy by now. They will continue to see the notification, but that is the extend of that for now.

Now You: do you use WhatsApp? Have you accepted the terms?

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Facebook caves in: WhatsApp users who don't accept the new privacy policy won't have their accounts deleted
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Facebook caves in: WhatsApp users who don't accept the new privacy policy won't have their accounts deleted
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WhatsApp users who don't accept the new privacy policies of the service won't have their accounts deleted or functionality limited, after all.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. iPooPaLot said on June 3, 2021 at 11:51 pm
    Reply

    What about new accounts?

  2. iPooPaLot said on June 3, 2021 at 11:13 pm
    Reply

    What is going to happen to people who already accepted their new terms and to people who create a new account?

  3. TimH said on June 3, 2021 at 6:27 pm
    Reply

    Does a new WA install allow the terms not to be agreed to?

  4. hg said on June 3, 2021 at 4:50 pm
    Reply

    I haven’t and wouldn’t accept the changes on principal, but am forced to use Facebook on Oculus even though they said it would not be necessary when they took it over.

    Hopefully, the US and EU will hit them with anti-trust action and severe fines one day. And make them sell off Whatsapp and Instagram. Same goes for Google.

    I try not to use services from either company, but user resistance/apathy makes it near impossible. Break them up!

  5. Gazza said on June 3, 2021 at 3:37 pm
    Reply

    Isn’t this all a bit late though? These dates bandied about, May 15th… it’s now June 3rd. Most likely almost every WhatsApp user has already felt forced to accept the updated terms weeks ago. What can they do now? Will WhatsApp allow users to change their mind and retract their permission for the updated privacy violation?

    1. thebrowser said on June 4, 2021 at 11:12 am
      Reply

      It’s not too late. People who agreed to these terms have been played. Facebook got what they were after without spending a dime by appealing to the “fear of missing out” of their user base. The very few who did not accept the new terms are not a problem at all, they can be separated easily until they accept sometime in the future, or not, they are after all the minority.

      On a separate topic… I find it extraordinary that people dismiss this type of news so easily, like the Amazon Sidewalk the other day, but lose their minds entirely over the Firefox new design…

      1. Yash said on June 4, 2021 at 5:07 pm
        Reply

        Its the state of modern society my friend where UI changes(minor) are more important than everything. Wondering what all those users gonna say when Google applies new material design in their services and Microsoft follows it.
        Okay I shouldn’t have said that, afterall UI changes are the most important thing in internet nevermind world.

    2. Yash said on June 3, 2021 at 7:46 pm
      Reply

      There were some users like me who still haven’t accepted it, though I get your point. Its too late and most users have agreed to it already.

  6. Dumbledalf said on June 3, 2021 at 11:35 am
    Reply

    Next it will be whatsapp, facebook, instagram users who don’t give their DNA, ID, bank account and password and all other information to zuck and on top agree to be anally probed at any given time will spend life in prison.

  7. Doomsday said on June 3, 2021 at 9:41 am
    Reply

    Facebook is like an abusive ex-girlfriend who thought she got you by the balls forever and is now in full-on panic mode after realizing you are dating other girls. “Pleeeease come baaaaack, I was just KIDDING!!! Can’t you take a joke!??? Everything is gonna be sooo different from now on, I swear!!!” we all know how that ends.. I am enjoying it waaaay to much watching big companies squirm, trying to avoid the deathblow. Oh just you wait Mork Zuckerborg, it’s all over soon..very soooooon =)

  8. Yash said on June 3, 2021 at 8:05 am
    Reply

    And that’s why Big Tech must be regulated. Not because it banned someone from platform, it was way overdue, but because of their childish behaviour in toying with user’s privacy. Yes these changes doesn’t appear in EU but still they have way too much control. I reluctantly use WhatsApp because despite creating an account on Signal, some of my relatives still won’t use it(normies), even though WhatsApp uses the Signal protocol for security(to those kids who say privacy and security are different things when discussing browsers, Signal is private and hence its the gold standard in security of encrypted conversations. If a service is private its automatically is secure). Anyway atleast people are talking about these events, for now even that is a small victory.

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