WhatsApp has reportedly extended its privacy policy acceptance date in select regions till June 19, 2021. Facebook-owned instant messaging platform earlier asked users to accept the new terms by February 8 but after a lot of criticism, it postponed the date to May 15. However, the messaging service scrapped its 15 May deadline for users to accept its controversial privacy policy update and said not accepting the terms will not lead to deletion of accounts.
Speaking to news agency PTI, a WhatsApp spokesperson recently said that the popular messaging app will not delete its users' accounts for not accepting the new terms and conditions.
Now according to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is announcing a new date for some users, probably living in specific countries like Germany and Argentina (it’s not confirmed yet but it’s really possible), where the government has suspended the updated Terms of Service: June 19, 2021. Within the given date, some WhatsApp users on Android and iOS will have to accept the terms if they want to continue using WhatsApp without any limitation.
The messaging platform was under fire over user concerns that data was being shared with the parent company. For those who are unaware WhatsApp was earlier accused of forcing its users to accept the ‘privacy policy or leave the platform'.
The policy focused on addressing data sharing with its parent company Facebook, especially where business accounts were concerned, but there were no changes to its end-to-end encryption, which is present on all private chats.
To accept the new privacy policy, users will just need to tap on 'Agree' option that appears on the screen when they log into the app. "By tapping AGREE, you accept the new terms and privacy policy," WhatsApp shows this banner on the screen.
Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has once again directed the Facebook-owned company to withdraw the planned update.
In a letter to WhatsApp, the ministry has given the popular instant messaging provider seven days to offer a “satisfactory” response. Failure to do so, the ministry warned, will prompt lawful measures.
“In fulfilment of its sovereign responsibility to protect the rights and interests of Indian citizens, the government of India will consider various options available to it under laws in India,” the letter reads.
