We are going to explain in a simple way everything you need to know about the new WhatsApp privacy policy, which is beginning to be implemented and to reach users through notices. Actually, everything is quite simple, although the interest in gaining your attention can cause it to be exaggerated in some places and cause a bit of confusion.
Therefore, we are going to try to explain everything to you, including what aspects change in WhatsApp, what this implies for its users, and why if you live in Europe you should not worry about it. All so that if the subject ever comes up or you have any questions, you can have a calm mind.
What changes in the new privacy policies
In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $ 16 billion. During the acquisition process, when it was time to receive the permits from the European Commission, Facebook assured that they did not have a reliable and automatic way of linking the WhatsApp and Facebook accounts of their users. However, once the operation was completed, they announced that they would start to combine this data, which led the EU to accuse them of providing misleading information.
The new privacy policy is a new step in this direction, in which the data of WhatsApp users will be shared with the rest of Facebook services. This is a mandatory change, so users must accept them to continue using WhatsApp. If they don't accept them, they won't be able to use the app.
But here comes the important thing, since this change does not apply to users from member states of the European Union. This is due to the European data protection regulation, the GDPR, which prevents Facebook from sharing WhatsApp data with its other companies for its own interest.
Therefore, if you live in Spain, France, Italy, or any member country of the European Union, these changes will not affect you, so even if you accept them Facebook will not share your data with the rest of the applications of the company.
By sharing this data, Facebook aims to have more complete profiles of all its users by unifying the information you give it (and that which you do not give it but still collect) in all its applications in a single profile. This will help you better target your advertising campaigns to the personal tastes of your users, and thus earn more money with more effective advertising.
Why it does not affect European countries
As we have told you, in 2016 Facebook began to combine some data from its WhatsApp users with the rest of the companies, specifically the telephone number. This prompted the authorities to launch an investigation, and Facebook temporarily canceled such movements, but it is still in effect today.
In fact, WhatsApp has a kind of sub-company created only for European users, so we don't have to share content here. Worldwide, the app used belongs to the company WhatsApp LLC, while in Europe we use that of the company WhatsApp Ireland Limited. By having separate companies, European users can be offered conditions and agreements different from those in the rest of the world, and which have been approved by the European Commission.
Chats are still safe for everyone
Finally, one thing you should be clear about is that Facebook cannot read what you write in the chats, so in no case and in no place will the content of the conversations be sent to them. This is so because WhatsApp uses what is known as end-to-end encryption.
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