WhatsApp users must agree to the new terms of use by May 15 in order to continue using the app as usual. But those who refuse to take the step are not initially locked out.
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About a month ago, WhatsApp had announced in response to a request from SPIEGEL: “All users must accept the new terms of use if they want to continue using WhatsApp. Anyone who did not consent before May 15 must do so in order to continue using WhatsApp. The accounts will remain activated for this purpose and for updates. “
That sounded clear: User accounts will not be blocked after May 15, but those who have not agreed to the then applicable terms of use can only do this and do nothing else with the app. WhatsApp is moving away from this, as »TechCrunch« first reported.
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Apparently WhatsApp wants to curb churn
In one new FAQ from WhatsApp it says: “You will receive calls and notifications for a short time, but you will not be able to read or send messages in the app.” According to TechCrunch, “short time” should mean “for a few weeks”.
Accounts would be deleted after the previous rules “Usually after 120 days of inactivity”.
The possibility of being able to use the app passively or to a limited extent without having agreed to the new guidelines could slow down churn movements that WhatsApp apparently fears: Whoever can still be called or sees that new messages are available, the network may not be complete after all want to leave and prefer to agree retrospectively.
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After WhatsApp first announced the changes in January, some media and individual users incorrectly interpreted them to mean that WhatsApp wanted to share more data with the parent company Facebook in order to be able to advertise the social network in a more targeted manner and to generate friendship suggestions from telephone contacts.
WhatsApp then moved the deadline from February 8 to May 15 and has since tried to explain that nothing will change with regard to data transfer to Facebook and that WhatsApp messages will continue to be end-to-end encrypted and thus also for WhatsApp itself not remain visible. The new provisions are primarily intended to make more transparent how WhatsApp collects and uses data when private users communicate directly with companies via the app, for example in customer service.
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Teasing competing messengers
However, WhatsApp has not yet collected and explained the details on a clear page. The information available so far is spread across several blog posts, such as this, this and this.
Last Thursday, WhatsApp announced in a blog post further efforts to capture the misunderstandings and false information about the new terms of use and to want to use the app itself. In the same post, the Facebook subsidiary also indirectly teased the competitors Telegram and Signal, which saw their download numbers jump in January.
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