If you didn’t already know. WhatsApp changed their Terms of Service & Privacy Policy. But, what does this mean? And can we try to understand what they’re potentially planning?
Here’s a brief background:
WhatsApp is a Facebook company. They purchased the platform back in 2014 for around $21.8 billion. Facebook also own Instagram, Oculus VR, LiveRail and Threadsy. They have carried out many other acquisitions over the years.
It’s good to know that in the U.K, businesses must declare when they change their policies (both terms of service and privacy). This means when a company changes any policy, users must be notified. The reasons for changing these policies can be vast and varied but, often include; regulation changes, legal protection, collecting data and adding features.
Here are some key elements from WhatsApps Privacy Policy that we think you should know. They may debunk any myths but, may also raise some concerns.
Such As:
WhatsApp is a Facebook company. There is no doubt that the amount of information that Facebook collects from us is very, very large, detailed and specific.
What makes this interesting though, Is that from this policy update. We can start to predict more clearly where Facebook and WhatsApp are heading.
We think Facebook and WhatsApp will go down the WeChat route, enabling in app purchases across all their platforms, assisted by targeted ADs and Stories. Their ’Transactions and Payments Data’ Policy was a recent addition to their policy update and could confirm our speculation.
We also think you should start to look out for:
Personally, at the moment. We won’t stop using WhatsApp. It’ll be interesting to see how these new services and potential features could unfold.
But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use other messaging services. We believe that it’s always good to be contactable and have a range of applications to serve different needs and functions. You can find us on Signal, Telegram and even Mark Cubans, DUST.
As the world becomes more privacy focussed, you’ll also want the person contacting you – to feel comfortable in doing so.
Let’s get creative. Drop us a message; hello@barehype.co.uk