Whatsapp Will Stop Working After May 15, If Privacy Policy Not Accepted? (Here’s The Truth!)

In January this year, Whatsapp introduced an update to its privacy policy, which left many users worried and confused. 

According to this privacy policy, Whatsapp users were asked to agree to its new data sharing policy, which would allow it to share business conversations and data with Facebook.

After receiving huge backlash and protests over their arm-twisting tactics to enforce the new privacy policy, Whatsapp postponed its initial deadline for implementing the new privacy policy, scheduled for February 8 to May 15.

Now on Friday, the instant messaging service announced that it will not suspend anyone’s Whatsapp account, or disable any functionalities in the app, shall they choose to not accept the privacy policy on May 15.

Whatsapp Clarifies to Keep Functionalities Unchanged

The postponed deadline for implementation of Whatsapp’s privacy policy update was set to May 15, from the initial date of May 8.

This was done in response to strong backlash and protests received by technology experts, privacy advocates and users on Whatsapp’s new update on privacy policy, introduced in January.

On Friday (May 14), Whatsapp announced that users will not lose any functionalities on May 15, if they do not agree to their privacy policy.

“WhatsApp continues to provide an important way for friends and family to stay in touch during this difficult time. While the majority of users have already approved our update, no one will lose functionality on May 15 if they haven’t yet and we’ll be sure to provide reminders at a later time,” a company spokesperson said.

The statement further added, “We want everyone to know that this update does not impact the privacy of personal messages.”

Whatsapp Initially Received Retaliation for New Update

Earlier in January, when Whatsapp announced its new update for privacy policy, users and technology experts, along with privacy advocates, retaliated strongly against it.

On January 25, a lawyer filed a plea in Delhi High Court against this privacy policy by Whatsapp, stating that it would violate an individual’s right of privacy.

In response to the growing heat, Whatsapp announced to postpone the  implementation process of its new policy from February 8 to May 15.

It published a blog post stating, “We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There’s been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts.”