After rolling out its rather naive terms of servicelink,WhatsApp saw a massive shift of users from its platform to other, moreprivacy-oriented platforms like Signal and Telegram.
In its attempts to retain its user base and bring back the people whodecided to migrate to other apps, the company has delayed the privacypolicy update by 3 monthslinkandis trying to convince users that their privacy is still maintained.
[image: WhatsApp in damage control in the wake of privacy policy backlash]
Recently, WhatsApp uploaded a series of statuses sending out the message ithas been trying to amplify for the past weeks, i.e., they are committed toprivacy, they cannot read chats or listen to calls, they cannot track yourlocation, and that they don’t share your contacts with Facebook.
Apart from this, a recent report by Reuters has revealed that the companyeven went as far as purchasing front-page ads in leading newspapers inIndia. The ad reads “WhatsApp respects and protects your privacy” andstates that, “the new privacy policy does not affect the privacy of yourmessages with your friends and family in any way”. Ad spending of thisscale should be nothing less than millions of rupees.
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The platform claims that the new terms of service only relate tointeractions with businesses. However, it is still tight-lipped about theamount of metadata it collects.
Nevertheless, considering the traction other applications have receivedover the past few weeks, WhatsApp will spend much more on marketing in thedays to come.
