All WhatsApp users around the world should have already received a message when opening the application asking to accept a small modification of the Terms and privacy policy . To continue using Whatsapp you must necessarily accept the change, but what this change means "> Whatsapp chats are Encrypted while those of Facebook Messenger still are not) it is used in the online distribution of advertising and in the creation of marketing statistics sold to companies, should have nothing to fear.
The only change is that now, those who are registered on Whatsapp, must share their number with Facebook (and not "on Facebook"), which will be able to use it in combination with other data to integrate other products or to target targeted advertisements based on interests.
Those who were naive enough to think that Whatsapp was different from Facebook and those who thought that the free use of Whatsapp was based on generosity, then they could find themselves displaced by this warning and find themselves in the bitter reality of "if it's free, the product you are you".
After Whatsapp became free for everyone, with no more annual subscription, it was quite clear that Facebook would use the most used chat in the world to generate some profit through data sharing and / or advertising.
Fortunately, there is still no form of internal advertising in Whatsapp, but data sharing has now been activated.
If this costs us nothing, Facebook can display better and more targeted ads on its site, thanks to this data collection.
Who does not agree with this new Whatsapp data management policy has two alternatives, stop using Whatsapp (in addition to Facebook) and isolate yourself from most friends (perhaps by downloading Telegram as a substitute) or change a new option that it still allows you to block sharing of the phone number with Facebook .
Precisely, to prevent our phone number and other Facebook information from being shared, you need to open Whatsapp, go to Settings -> Account and disable the Share account info option.
As it is written after deactivation and before confirmation, this operation, I do not know why, is irreversible, that is, you will not be able to go back and reactivate the sharing of information with Facebook.
Facebook could therefore limit the use of some products and some functions, (such as, perhaps, the possibility of receiving free SMS from Facebook).
It must also be considered that this is a partial deactivation and that WhatsApp will still be able to share data for other purposes, such as for the improvement of systems and the app in general.
For all doubts, WhatsApp has also published a FAQ page to give more explanations and answer some of the most important questions:
- Will there be ads on WhatsApp?
Short answer: No
- What information is shared with Facebook?
The answer here is somewhat vague and it is unclear what " some information " will be shared.
What is certain is that the phone number will be shared.
- Will the information shared by Whatsapp to Facebook be visible to other users on Facebook?
Short answer: No, never, ever messages, photos and account information will be shared on Facebook and will not be visible to anyone.
