The announcement that WhatsApp will get new rules – and force users to accept them – has spread fear among people who rely on the messaging app to stay in touch with friends and family.
WhatsApp has long been proud of its commitment to security and privacy, with encrypted conversations and other important technologies built into the app.
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But the new announcement has raised fears of the exact opposite: People’s information is not kept secret but shared with Facebook.
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But what is the truth about the changes and how concerned should people be?
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The event that kicked off the changes are the new WhatsApp terms and a requirement that users agree to abide by them. Users are, in the last two days, asked to approve these changes – for now they can choose to leave them until later, but eventually users will not be able to continue using the app unless they are. ‘They don’t accept the new rules.
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These new rules include a summary of how WhatsApp will share information with Facebook and how the shared information could be used.
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“As a member of the Facebook family of companies, WhatsApp receives information and shares information with this family of companies,” says the new privacy policy.
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