WhatsApp plans to hold features for ransom until you accept privacy terms

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WhatsApp plans to hold features for bribe until you accept privacy terms

(Prototype credit: Shutterstock)

WhatsApp users are being presented with something of a good news-bad news situation from the Facebook-owned conversation app. A May 15 deadline to take new privacy terms for WhatsApp is no longer going to be enforced. But users will eventually have to concord to the policy or slowly lose access to WhatsApp features.

As you may remember, WhatsApp rolled out a new privacy policy at the kickoff of the twelvemonth that would have shared data with Facebook, removing the ability to opt out. As you lot might imagine, that sparked some controversy among WhatsApp users, some of whom dropped the chat service. Those that remained were supposed to have a May xv borderline for accepting the policy or have their accounts deleted.

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At present, WhatsApp says the deadline's no longer a difficult and fast one, at least according to the FAQ the company posted. "No one will have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of WhatsApp on May 15," the FAQ says.

Instead, if you don't hold to WhatsApp'south privacy policy, you'll commencement getting what the company calls "persistent reminders" — basically a nag that volition appear every fourth dimension you log into the app.

WhatsApp posted what to expect if you lot don't agree to its new privacy policy (Image credit: WhatsApp)

Simply that will somewhen alter after a few weeks. At that point, yous'll still be able to respond incoming calls phone and video calls through WhatsApp, but you'll lose access to your chat listing. Anyone with notifications turned on can tap those in order to read messages and reply to them.

Notwithstanding, if y'all still don't agree to the privacy policy after that, a few weeks later, the incoming calls and notifications will terminate, as well. WhatsApp says it won't delete your account if you don't have the privacy update.

Right at present, there isn't whatever way to accept the new privacy policy and remove consent later, and there isn't a mode to avoid beingness affected by information technology. If you want to keep using the app, it seems this is the only mode, at least for now.

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Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over 13 years for publications including Tom's Guide, MTV, Rolling Rock, CNN, Pop Science, Playboy, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Saying, and more. She'due south also appeared as a panelist at video game conventions like PAX Due east and PAX West and has coordinated social media for companies like CNET. When she's non writing or gaming, she's looking for the next groovy visual novel in the vein of Saya no Uta. You lot can follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/whatsapp-plans-to-hold-features-for-ransom-until-you-accept-privacy-terms

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