The move will affect around 1 billion customers, whose personal data will be transferred to the social giant Facebook for the purpose of more precise advertising targeting.

Recently, WhatsApp users received a message asking them to accept changes to the company's Privacy Policy when they logged into the updated version of the app. It is highly likely that those users who automatically clicked the Accept button are unaware of the main feature of these changes, according to which the messenger will begin to provide its users' phone numbers to Facebook (which owns WhatsApp) for the purpose of more precise advertising targeting and the development of other functions.

WhatsApp to Share User Data with Facebook

About changes in the new WhatsApp policy
Under the new Terms, your data, including contact information, will  be shared with Facebook to better serve targeted ads that are more likely to match your interests. WhatsApp comments on the change on  its official blog :

​By using whatsapp data you can reach the right audience and increase their sales. This type of approach helps build strong relationships with customers. These customers are likely to spend more money on their products or services.

No user data that you exchange via WhatsApp, including messages, photos, and user data, will be transferred to Facebook itself, other applications affiliated with it, or third parties. In practice, this means that some information will still be transferred to the social network (for example, a phone number), but the data will not be available to any of the service's users, remaining confidential. In addition, if you and your contacts use the latest version of the messenger, all messages sent and received are encrypted by default . With end-to-end encryption of messages , only the sender and / or recipient can read them - not WhatsApp, Facebook, or anyone else.

For the average user, this innovation in practice only means that we should expect to see advertising and personal service messages in the messenger soon. A little more doubtful is that the social network will gain access to personal data in order to more effectively analyze information about how often users use their services, find the best way to combat spam in the application and display more relevant advertising for each user individually. The change will not take effect immediately; most likely, it will take at least several months before it is fully implemented. It is also very important to pay attention to the following:

According to the developers, all encrypted messages remain confidential. Neither WhatsApp or Facebook employees nor anyone else will be able to read them. The user's phone number will not be posted anywhere and will not be transferred to anyone. The messenger's representatives are trying to assure everyone that they intend to adhere to their policy in the future: not to sell or transfer phone numbers to advertisers.

Is it possible to opt out of WhatsApp's new terms?

There are two ways to opt out of having information shared  to improve your experience with Facebook ads and products.  Unfortunately, you can't completely avoid having information shared by WhatsApp.

When the new terms of use are displayed, click the  Read button , scroll down and uncheck the box next to providing personal data to Facebook. 

 
WhatsApp to Share User Data with Facebook

If you have previously accepted these rules and want to opt out, you have 30 days to go to settings and uncheck the box next to  Share my account info . 

WhatsApp to Share User Data with Facebook

The company says  WhatsApp will share its users' data with  gambling data russia Facebook anyway, but the social network "will use it for other purposes, such as improving infrastructure and delivery systems, analyzing the use of our and their services, ensuring system security, and combating spam, policy violations, and copyright infringement .  "

In the spring, WhatsApp introduced end-to-end encryption technology  based on the Signal protocol. Facebook Messenger recently began testing end-to-end encryption of messages .