Facebook-owned WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new data privacy option in compliance with the new legislation as the European Union (EU) prepares to introduce the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May to harmonise data privacy laws.
More than 1 billion people in over 180 countries use WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends and family, anytime and anywhere. It is free and offers simple, secure, reliable messaging and calling, available on phones all over the world. It was started as an alternative to SMS.
It was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton who had previously spent 20 years combined at Yahoo. WhatsApp joined Facebook in 2014, but continues to operate as a separate app with a laser focus on building a messaging service that works fast and reliably anywhere in the world.
Setting the record straight: http://t.co/atRCQApnK3
— WhatsApp Inc. (@WhatsApp) March 17, 2014
The new feature, to be remotely enabled by May 25 for its over one billion users, will also reportedly be extended to Facebook and Instagram.
The new feature will offer users more control over their data on Internet, ensuring more protection transparency and uniformity for them.
Under the “Account” settings, the users will see a new icon titled “Download my data”. “Create a report of data from your account. This file can be ported to another service or maintained for backup,” the instructions in the Beta version read.The process may require time and WhatsApp will notify the user when the report is ready to be downloaded.
On August 25, 2016, WhatsApp released a new version of its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy where it explained that “from now on, its users’ data is transferred to Facebook for three purposes: targeted advertising, security and evaluation and improvement of services (business intelligence)”.
The Supreme Court of India has also directed WhatsApp and Facebook to specify whether they were sharing the data with any third-party entity.
