WhatsApp confirms, it won’t limit features even if users don’t accept new privacy policy

WhatsApp has been in the middle of controversies in the last few months, to be specific, since the beginning of 2021. The controversy has been mostly around the updated privacy policy. Last week, the Indian government warned WhatsApp to withdraw the newly updated privacy policy. WhatsApp has now responded to the Indian government and stated that they stand by the policy and also highlighted that all chats are secure.

In an official statement to BGR India a WhatsApp spokesperson said, “we have responded to the Government of India’s letter and assured them that the privacy of users remains our highest priority.” It added, As a reminder, the recent update does not change the privacy of people’s personal messages. Its purpose is to provide additional information about how people can interact with businesses if they choose to do so.”

WhatsApp also said that users who don’t accept the privacy policy will no longer lose features, as previously announced. The secure messaging platform noted, “we will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works in the coming weeks. Instead, we will continue to remind users from time to time about the update as well as when people choose to use relevant optional features, like communicating with a business that is receiving support from Facebook.”

The spokesperson further noted, “we hope this approach reinforces the choice that all users have whether or not they want to interact with a business. We will maintain this approach until at least the forthcoming PDP law comes into effect.”

WhatsApp privacy policy came into effect on May 15 after months of controversies around it. Since then, WhatsApp has been reminding users to accept the privacy policy update. The messaging platform had previously said, users who fail to accept the policy in the long run will eventually lose access to several key functionalities. In the latest statement, WhatsApp has confirmed that nothing of that sort will happen and users who don’t accept the policy will not lose access to any feature in the long run.