WhatsApp will no longer limit functionality if you don’t accept its new privacy policy

Tech companies may be the superpowers of the modern world, but despite their strength, there is still no power greater than disgruntled users. This is precisely what has happened to Facebook and WhatsApp, which has been trying to enforce its new privacy policy on to users, lest they risk facing a loss of functionality should they not accept it. An initiative that has already been delayed after its initial rollout was such a disaster.

Facebook is reversing that decision with the company having now revealed that people who do not accept its new privacy policies will still retain all their usual functionality, as originally reported by The Verge:

Given recent discussions with various authorities and privacy experts, we want to make clear that we will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works for those who have not yet accepted the update. We will continue to remind users from time to time and let them accept the update, including when they choose to use relevant optional features like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook. We hope this approach reinforces the choice that all users have whether or not they want to interact with a business.

The new privacy policy has proven to be a bit of a mess for WhatsApp. Firstly, it was very poorly communicated with most people not quite understanding that a lot of the information sharing that it was intending for was aimed at the business side of things and that private messages will always remain end-to-end encrypted and private.

The company has also been a little heavy-handed and draconian in trying to force its changes on people who are not making use of its business features, and they are now starting to realise that people do not take too kindly to that and are happy to head elsewhere if need be.

Hopefully, Facebook’s new approach will be better accepted by users and perhaps see people accept its new rules as they need to. The bigger issue around social media data sharing will remain, and people may get increasingly nervous about it until regulation around the matter improves.

Last Updated: June 1, 2021