Whatsapp users who do not accept the new privacy policy of the service do not risk deleting their accounts and the functionality of the application will not be restricted.
Facebook released updated terms of service and a new privacy policy for its popular messaging service a while ago . The company extended the deadline once , but it remained on May 15, 2021 despite widespread user protests and media coverage of the situation.
According to Facebook, WhatsApp users who do not accept the new terms and privacy policy will have limited functionality in the messaging application.
Gradually reducing the functionality would remove the ability to start conversations or calls before removing chat or call answering options and finally terminating the account.
But a FAQ page about the changes and consequences of not accepting the terms and new policy on WhatsApp's website was recently updated, and it appears that Facebook has decided not to proceed. For now at least...
According to the FAQ, accounts of users who do not accept the new privacy policy or terms of service will not be permanently deleted and the functionality will not be removed.
Facebook states that the new privacy policy and the new terms have already been accepted by the majority of users and that those who have not accepted them will continue to see the notification when using the WhatsApp application.
The reminder will no longer be persistent, something the company had planned to do in the past.
However, new users who sign up for the service will have to accept the new terms and privacy policy.
Facebook does not reveal why it decided to change course, but one possible explanation is that the measures it wanted to take led users to leave the platform. Competitive services saw an increase in user numbers immediately after Facebook's announcement.
Nothing is going to change for WhatsApp users who have not accepted the terms and privacy policy so far. They will continue to see the alert, but it will be their only problem at the moment.
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