WhatsApp Will Limit Usability If A User Does Not Accept Its Privacy Changes

Things did not go well for WhatsApp when it introduced its new terms and conditions for its privacy policy back in January. Specifically, the Facebook-owned messaging app required users to agree with the changes, therefore allowing it to share certain data with its parent company. Due to a huge backlash from users regarding the announcement, WhatsApp has decided to delay the changes to 15 May.

So what will happen if you decided not to agree with the new policy by then?

The messaging app has recently updated the security and privacy page on its website explaining the effects that will be put in place, should users refuse to accept the changes. According to WhatsApp, you’ll still be able to receive calls and notifications for a couple of weeks after implementation. However, it also noted that you won’t be able to read or send messages, and make any form of calls to your contacts – therefore rendering the app to be as useful as a mesh face mask during a pandemic.

WhatsApp did not go into detail on what would happen after prolonged refusal of accepting the new terms. It is possible that the service will continue to maintain the restrictions until users finally decide to give in. That is, provided that they’ve not already jumped to other messaging platforms that are welcoming an exodus of new users after the initial backlash.

There have been some speculations suggesting that the service will delete a user’s account due to inactivity caused by the restrictions. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case as Whatsapp will only wipe accounts that are not connected to the internet after 120 days, according to its website. So if you’re still acknowledging notifications and answering calls from the app, it would still count as to being active. Of course, this may change if the service decides to impose even more restrictions in the long run.

The service also pointed out that you can still export your chat history on Android or iPhone, and down a report of your account before 15 May. Whether this ability will be taken away from the user after the date of implementation was not specified, so it’s best to take note of this just in case. Furthermore, it is also asking users to reconsider deleting their WhatsApp accounts, saying that the move is irreversible and will forever erase all message history and backups on Google Drive and iCloud.

WhatsApp also recently added a new FAQ page on its website to further explain its new privacy policy, in an attempt to persuade users into accepting the changes. The service ensured that WhatsApp and Facebook will not have the ability to access or keep logs of your personal messages or calls after the implementation – the same applies to in-app chat groups as well. It added that location sharing is only kept between the user and their contacts, and by providing the service permission will only allow it access to phone numbers from your contact list in order to “make messaging fast and reliable.”

The service continued to emphasise throughout the FAQ that it does not share a user’s personal information with Facebook for ads purposes. However, it did note earlier in January that sharing of data only applies when a user interacts with a business on its platform, specifically those that use Facebook’s hosting services.

Whether you choose to accept the new changes or not remains entirely up to you. Usually the downside of leaving the platform is that you’d lose all of your chat and call history. But this is no longer the case as both Signal and Telegram now let users transfer their WhatsApp chats over in just a few steps, therefore enabling them to continue where they left off.

So what are you planning to do once the new privacy changes are implemented later in May? Will you accept the new policy and continue using Whatsapp, delay a while more just to see what would happen, or have you already switched over to the other messaging platforms? Let us know in the comments.

Mobile Ad Agencies Form Alliance To Prepare For Apple iOS Privacy Changes

A group of mobile advertising companies have banded together to form the Post-IDFA Alliance, a partnership designed to help marketers and app developers adapt to Apple’s iOS privacy plans. This consists of six agencies including Liftoff, Fyber, Chartboost, Singular, InMobi and Vungle – all of which will be affected by the App Tracking Transparency changes on the upcoming iOS 14.5 update.

IDFA, an abbreviation for Identifier for Advertisers, is a unique, random and resettable device identifier assigned to a user’s iOS device. Advertisers rely on this to track and identify a user (without revealing personal information) in order to deliver customised advertising based on their behaviour as well as interactions with certain in-app event triggers.

As previously reported, Apple will be giving iPhone users the ability and choice to permit or block IDFA tracking in the upcoming iOS 14.5 update, which is already available via its beta release. Users will be able to disable IDFA on an app-by-app basis, where every application on the platform is required to prompt users to ask for their permission for tracking.

Ad companies are predicting that a majority of users will opt out from this, which will heavily impact mobile advertising – at least for iOS devices. This significant change in ad tracking also caused the ongoing stir between Apple and social media giant Facebook, which saw both sides trading blows through various means – often publicly.

As a result, the Post-IDFA Alliance aims to help advertisers and developers by providing tips and best practices. This would ensure effective ads are placed in front of relevant customers and the effectiveness of those ads can still be measured once the iOS changes are rolled out.

According to Liftoff chief executive Mark Ellis, the group plans to offer these through videos, webinars and other materials to help the aforementioned understand how to use data in an “Apple-friendly manner.” Most of these and other relevant resources are available via the alliance’s website, which is aptly named “No IDFA? No Problem” (link provided below).

On a related note, other independent marketing agencies are already offering their services on how to tackle the upcoming privacy changes as well. These include companies such as Adjust, Appsflyer, Tinuiti and many others.

Clubhouse Announces Privacy Changes To Fix China Spying Vulnerability

Audio-based social media app Clubhouse said it would make privacy changes after US researchers based at Stanford University revealed the app’s potential vulnerability to spying by the Chinese government. The app was recently blocked by China, but Clubhouse officials conceded that conversations involving China nationals that took place before then could go through Chinese servers.

In a statement provided to the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO), Clubhouse admitted that the pings that the company sent to servers all over the world do contain user’s ID. Even though this only applies to a small part of its traffic, these servers might be located in China as well.

Hence, it will now increase the encryption and blocks within the Clubhouse app to stop it from pinging Chinese servers. The company has also planned to have these new changes to be audited and verified by an external security company.

Earlier, SIO researchers raised concerns that Agora, who provides back-end infrastructure to Clubhouse, might have access to users’ raw audio. SIO surmised that since Agora is subject to China’s cybersecurity laws, the company must turn over recordings to Beijing if requested to do so under national security grounds.

For its part, Agora told The Verge that it does not have access to identifiable user data. The Shanghai-based company also insists that voice and video traffic from non-China users does not go through China.

Beijing blocked Clubhouse last week after Chinese users began using it to discuss taboo topics such as China-Taiwan relations, the ill-treatment of Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province, and the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.