Rick's Daily Tips

Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!

  • Home
  • Rick’s Bio
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Rick’s Tip Jar
  • Get My Tech Tips Newsletter
  • Recommended Tech Gear
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Tech News / WhatsApp’s new ‘Privacy’ Policy effectively eliminates most of your privacy

WhatsApp’s new ‘Privacy’ Policy effectively eliminates most of your privacy

Posted on January 7, 2021

Do you use Facebook’s ultra-popular WhatsApp messaging app?

If so, you probably know how they’re always boasting about how well they protect the privacy of their users.

In fact, their previous Privacy Policy page displayed the following statement right near the top of the page:

“Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA. Since we started WhatsApp, we’ve aspired to build our Services with a set of strong privacy principles in mind.“

Gives one a warm, fuzzy feeling, right?

Well, WhatsApp just updated their Privacy Policy and the statement I quoted above is nowhere to be found on their new Privacy Policy page.

However, they did add a few new statements, which combined seem to absolutely shred your privacy in a number of ways.

First of all, on February 8, 2021 WhatsApp will begin sharing your information with Facebook and the other companies that are owned by Facebook.

The shared data will be used for a number of listed purposes, including advertising and various forms of cross-promotion.

Here’s a list of just some of the data WhatsApp collects, and will begin sharing on February 8:

  1. User phone numbers
  2. Other people’s phone numbers stored in address books
  3. Profile names
  4. Profile pictures
  5. Status message including when a user was last online
  6. Diagnostic data collected from app logs

And that’s just the info listed on WhatsApp’s Privacy Policy page.

In case you’re wondering, #2 in the list above includes EVERYONE on your phone’s Contacts List, even the ones that don’t use WhatsApp themselves.

But wait, there’s more…

According to the WhatsApp download page in the Apple App Store, they already collect and use all of the following info:

  • Purchases
  • Financial information
  • Location
  • Contacts
  • User content
  • Identifiers
  • Usage data
  • Diagnostics

If you’re a current WhatsApp user you’ll be receiving a notification from WhatsApp asking you to read and agree to the new Privacy Policy before the February 8 deadline.

The notice you’ll receive should look something like this:

If you don’t click the “Agree” button before February 8, 2021 your WhatsApp app will stop working and you’ll need to first delete your WhatsApp account and then uninstall the app from your device.

Bottom line: If you value your privacy you really need to read WhatsApp’s new Privacy Policy and decide whether you can live with the changes they are making.


Never miss a tip!  Click here to sign up for my free Daily Tech Tips Email Newsletter!






Popular…

How do I ask you a tech question?

Step-by-step guide to completely ridding your PC of viruses and other malware

10 reasons why I recommend buying tech gear from Amazon

How to upscale video – Top 4 AI video enhancers in 2023


Advertise

Guest Post Guidelines

Want to ask me a tech question?

Handy Tech Resources

Privacy Policy

Computer Tips
Smartphone Tips
Blogging Tips

Tech Q & A
Reviews
Tech News

Write for RicksDailyTips.com

Scam alerts
Downloads

Copyright © 2025 RicksDailyTips.com

Affiliate Disclaimer


Rick's Daily Tips is hosted by InMotion Hosting. Click here to find out why.

This blog uses cookies to ensure that you receive the best experience on my website. Please click 'Accept Cookies' to continue.