It said it could not see your private messages or hear your
calls. It also emphasised that its parent company Facebook could also not read
messages or calls of its users. The new development comes amid public criticism
against WhatsApp over its privacy policy update that took place last week and
will be applicable from February 8.
Addressing user concerns over the privacy policy update,
WhatsApp released a new FAQ page on its site that highlights private
communication on the app.
Our privacy policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family. Learn more about how we protect your privacy as well as what we do NOT share with Facebook here: https://t.co/VzAnxFR7NQ
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 12, 2021
“Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can read your messages or
hear your calls with your friends, family, and co-workers on WhatsApp. Whatever
you share, it stays between you,” the platform said. In a thread, it added,
“Our privacy policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with
friends or family.”
WhatsApp also stated that it didn’t keep logs of user
communications. “While traditionally mobile carriers and operators store this
information, we believe that keeping these records for two billion users would
be both a privacy and security risk and we don’t do it,” it noted.
On the location sharing part, WhatsApp pointed out in its
newly created FAQ page that it couldn’t see the shared location of users and
neither could Facebook. The platform underlined that when someone shares
location on its app, it’s end-to-end encrypted — meaning it couldn’t be seen by
anyone except the people with whom it is shared with.
However, it is important to note that WhatsApp does collect
and use precise location information of user devices. “Even if you do not use
our location-related features, we use IP addresses and other information like
phone number area codes to estimate your general location (e.g., city and
country). We also use your location information for diagnostics and
troubleshooting purposes,” the updated privacy policy mentions.
The FAQ page also noted that WhatsApp didn’t share contacts with Facebook. “When you give us permission, we access only the phone numbers from your address book to make messaging fast and reliable, and we don’t share your contacts lists with the other apps Facebook offers,” it said.
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