WhatsApp delays introducing new data protection rules after criticism and dwindling users for a good three months.

22.00, 15 January 2021

The excitement was huge: Now WhatsApp is delaying the introduction of new data protection rules for a good three months after criticism and deportation of users. So far, users must agree to the new terms by February 8th if they want to continue using the chat service that belongs to Facebook. Now the new data protection guidelines won’t take effect until May 15, as WhatsApp announced Friday.

According to WhatsApp, the changes are primarily about creating better ways to communicate with companies. Not only will the end-to-end encryption be shaken, in which the chat content appears only in clear text for the participating users, but even WhatsApp itself. It’s also not about forwarding extended data to Facebook. Outside the European Union, WhatsApp user data has been sent to Facebook for advertising purposes or to improve products – albeit since 2016.

WhatsApp is the world’s most successful chatting service with over two billion users, followed by Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion). In the past few weeks, WhatsApp competitors like Telegram, Signal, or Threema have reported strong influx Because users have left WhatsApp after announcing the new data protection directive. WhatsApp has complained about the spread of false information about him, and they want to clear it up by mid-May.