Aug 10, 2016

WhatsApp has now explained what this all means for you. The key thing, from where we stand, is that from now on WhatsApp will straight up share your data with Zuckerberg and Co.

The firm then goes on a lot about privacy and all that jazz, which we might have expected.

Today, we're updating WhatsApp's terms and privacy policy for the first time in four years as part of our plans to test ways for people to communicate with businesses in the months ahead, the company said in a blog post.

The updated documents also reflect that we've joined Facebook and that we've recently rolled out many new features, like end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp Calling and messaging tools like WhatsApp for web and desktop.

People use our app every day to keep in touch with the friends and loved ones who matter to them, and this isn't changing. But as we announced earlier this year, we want to explore ways for you to communicate with businesses that matter to you too, while still giving you an experience without third-party banner ads and spam.

End-to-end encryption is the next thing that caught our attention, but WhatsApp then pulled us back into Facebook talk about how the firm merges two accounts that people might use for two different things.

When you and the people you message are using the latest version of WhatsApp, your messages are encrypted by default, which means you're the only people who can read them, the post continued.

Even as we coordinate more with Facebook in the months ahead, your encrypted messages stay private and no-one else can read them. Not WhatsApp, not Facebook, not anyone else.

“We won't post or share your WhatsApp number with others, including on Facebook, and we still won't sell, share or give your phone number to advertisers.

“But by coordinating more with Facebook, we'll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp.

“And by connecting your phone number with Facebook's systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them. For example, you might see an ad from a company you already work with, rather than one from someone you've never heard of.”

Chat API Team

mgp25

— https://github.com/mgp25/Chat-API/wiki/WhatsApp-incoming-updates