Under fire for its controversial privacy policy, WhatsApp is cleverly chalking out a strategy to allay the fears among its users. The popular chatting app is now using its Status feature to reassure users about their privacy. The company is adding a Status at the top of the feature in everyone’s account to tell that WhatsApp is committed to the secrecy and privacy of users. While the Status messaging was available in India for some time now, WhatsApp has expanded it to the US and UK users. The in-app feature reminds users about the platform’s commitment to the privacy of users. It reiterates that WhatsApp cannot read, see, and listen to conversations exchanged between friends and family. The conversations are end-to-end encrypted.
WhatsApp said that it is providing updates to users in the Status tab about its updated policy. It wants people to directly listen to the company about the policy. It added that Facebook too cannot access any of the conversations on the platform. WhatsApp decided to shares updates via Status after it faced massive backlash over the privacy policy. Concerns were raised over the new updates that the data of users will be compromised with the implementation of the new policy. The company had even started asking users to accept the terms. It said that accounts not accepting the terms will be deleted from the platform. The new privacy policy was slated to come into effect from February 8. However, WhatsApp deferred it to May 15.
India is the biggest market for WhatsApp. It has nearly 350 million active users in the country. According to WhatsApp, the new policy has nothing to do with the people interact with others on the platform. It is strictly for business. It said that the new policy is aimed at making businesses easier and bring more transparency. Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come out in the defense of the updated privacy policy. He said that messages on the platform remain end-to-end encrypted even after the new rules are implemented. WhatsApp, he said, wants to bring tools to allow businesses to function more smoothly.
Carolyn is a technology graduate and loves to write about anything related to technology as well as writes in others sectors. Carolyn is a professional writer with over 7 years of experience. Initially starting off as a programmer, Carolyn decided to combine her knowledge about technology and writing and that’s how she joined Reporter Expert.