WhatsApp after its first attempt at updating its Terms of Service, which saw huge user backlash worldwide, the company has now rolled out a new approach to better explain its upcoming changes in data sharing.
Recommendation:
We previously encountered a great deal of misinformation about this update and we continue to work hard to clear up any confusion.[…] We’ve reflected on what we could have done better here. We want everyone to know our history of defending end-to-end encryption and trust we’re committed to protecting people’s privacy and security. We’re now using our Status feature to share our values and updates directly within WhatsApp. We’ll be doing much more to make our voice clear going forward.
This includes new direct, detailed prompts within the business chats:
Not only this, but WhatsApp is also adding a new in-app banner to give more details on the change and also uploads quick explainers in several languages.
Video Posted By WhatsApp Chief Will Cathcart
We are doing more to explain how WhatsApp continues to protect people's privacy and I wanted to share our plans here first pic.twitter.com/ja6tqGZ3yi
— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) February 18, 2021
WhatsApp seems to be extra cautious. A lot of users downloaded alternate messaging apps in the weeks after WhatsApp’s first announcement, while internally, WhatsApp must have also seen a huge decline in usage, prompting its re-think.
During this time, we understand some people may check out other apps to see what they have to offer. We’ve seen some of our competitors try to get away with claiming they can’t see people’s messages – if an app doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption by default that means they can read your messages. Other apps say they’re better because they know even less information than WhatsApp. We believe people are looking for apps to be both reliable and safe, even if that requires WhatsApp having some limited data. We strive to be thoughtful on the decisions we make and we’ll continue to develop new ways of meeting these responsibilities with less information, not more.
The backlash definitely would have freaked out the WhatsApp Team. The company is planning to launch its new terms of service update in May, so it is getting in early to counter all the concerns ahead of time.
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