WhatsApp updated its terms of use in Austria today, Thursday. The background to this is a judgment by the Supreme Court (OGH), which declared the change in WhatsApp conditions in spring 2021 to be inadmissible due to a lack of transparency. Austrian users will be informed in the coming weeks, as a WhatsApp spokesman told APA.
The updated Terms of Use are now intended to be transparent about what future changes to the Terms of Use mean and how users can manage their account options if they do not want to agree to these changes. It should also explain how users can transfer their contractual rights and obligations to another person. Furthermore, it should be made clear what happens if WhatsApp’s terms of use violate Austrian law, the company said.
Sharing of Data
“The privacy of our users is always our top priority and these updates do not change the way we operate our service,” the written statement said. “This applies in particular to the processing, use or disclosure of data to third parties, including disclosure to Meta. Regardless of where in the world our users are located and communicating with one another, we protect all personal messages and calls with an end- end-to-end encryption, meaning no one in between, including WhatsApp, can read or eavesdrop on it.”
