New WhatsApp Policy popped up on many phones between 6th and 7th January 2020, but what changes are in there, and why it is a worry.
The New WhatsApp Policy Demystified
We share with you a detailed writeup on the New WhatsApp Policy by Devangshu Datta, New Delhi, which answers all your questions.
WhatsApp has announced changes to its terms of service (ToS) starting February 8. Users must agree to the changes, or they won’t be able to use WhatsApp. The last such change was as recently as January 4, 2021. WhatsApp has been a Facebook (FB) subsidiary since 2014.
Why has WhatsApp done this?
Facebook Inc has been working to integrate services across Facebook (the social platform), FB Messenger, Instagram (FB bought it in 2012) and WhatsApp. Mark Zuckerberg announced this in October 2020. Insta and FB Messenger are already integrated. The new ToS explains how businesses can use WhatsApp for B2B or B2C conversations. WhatsApp is also rolling out payment options, and FB would like to conjoin that data.
This initiative may also be rolled out in a hurry to pre-empt development in a landmark anti-trust case. The US Federal Trade Commission and multiple US states have sued Facebook for monopolist behaviour. One of the demands is that Instagram and WhatsApp be delinked from FB and perhaps spun off. The company may be hopping to provide integration as a done deal.
What does it mean for you and me?
Your privacy is impacted. WhatsApp holds some data about you. So does Facebook. Those data are in different silos. If the silos talk to each other, the company knows more. For example, it may learn that a given phone number (used for WhatsApp) is associated with the FB account (which may have a different name and /or different number associated). From February 8, FB will also be able you tie accurate location data if you give WhatsApp permission to use this.
FB can compare your contacts on WhatsApp, the interactions, and the WhatsApp groups you belong to, and compare those to FB contacts and FB activity. Plus, if you use WhatsApp transaction services, FB may be able to associate bank account, or card details that WhatsApp would pick up.
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Read the full article below on the New WhatsApp Policy.
The Ghana Education News Editorial Team is a specialized collective of education researchers, journalists, and policy analysts dedicated to providing high-fidelity reporting on the Ghanaian academic landscape. Serving as a primary bridge between governing bodies—including the Ghana Education Service (GES) and WAEC—and the public, the team leverages over a decade of combined experience to serve students, parents, and educators nationwide.
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A self-taught innovator, professional Web Designer, and regular columnist on GhanaWeb, Wisdom engineered SkulManager.com as the only platform strictly tailored to the GES Curriculum. His technical leadership has redefined educational assessment through a Hybrid Marking Ecosystem, pioneering the BECE and WASSCE Home Mock services—a unique fusion of WAEC-trained human examiners and advanced AI marking engines operational since 2022.
Wisdom’s 360-degree view of institutional challenges is grounded in his tenure as College President and Lecturer at Pinnacle College (Achimota), as well as his background as a school administrator and accountant. He is a dedicated lifelong learner currently advancing his studies at the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), with academic ties to the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
An accomplished author, his works include Returnees of the Dead Forest (UK Published), Simplified Beacon of Light (850+ Q&A), and The Leader in Me. A foundational pillar of the award-winning NGO Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG), Wisdom is committed to building intelligent systems that solve societal problems and prepare the next generation of Ghanaian students for a digital future.
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