Hello everyone, this post is dedicated to explaining the new whatsapp policies after the incidents with Mark Zuckerberg
What you need to know
WhatsApp has updated its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy ahead of General Data Protection Regulation that comes into effect in Europe on May 25.
WhatsApp has updated its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy ahead of General Data Protection Regulation that comes into effect in Europe on May 25. Soon, the messaging service will let users download the data it collects. WhatsApp has clarified that it is not asking for new rights to collect personal information with the update. The Facebook-owned company has explained how it uses and protects people’s data. In the European Union, the minimum age for signing up on WhatsApp will now be 16 years, and not 13.
In 2016, the service changed its privacy policy, wherein it announced it will be sharing meta data such as device information, a user’s account number, etc with parent-company Facebook. Users have the option of turning this feature off.
How to download your WhatsApp data
The “Request Account Info” feature will go live for everyone in the coming weeks. “In the coming weeks, you will be able to download and see the limited data that we collect. This feature will be rolling out to all users around the world on the newest version of the app” say’s the WhatsApp team.
Do note that the information will not have users chat history, but a report of what their WhatsApp account information and settings looks. WhatsApp “Request Account Info” option can be accessed by clicking on WhatsApp Settings>Account. Once users click on “Request report”, the screen will update to “Request sent”. The report may take up to three days to become available from the date of request. The request cannot be cancelled by users. However, WhatsApp can cancel users request for report if they delete their WhatsApp account, change their number or re-register their account while the request is pending.
The report cannot be viewed on WhatsApp and users will have to see it on an external app or mail a copy of the report to themselves. WhatsApp will give users an option to permanently delete their report as well.
Once WhatsApp report becomes available, users will get a notification that reads, “Your account info report is ready to download.” WhatsApp users will have a few weeks to download the report, after which it will get deleted from the company’s servers, according to the post.
Thanks for the time!