BaltimoreJewishLife.com | Is WhatsApp Looking At All Your Data?

Last week, WhatsApp started asking users to agree to new terms of service and a new privacy policy for its messaging app. While the request may seem innocuous, industry analysts are concerned that the new terms may open the door to new invasive advertising practices by WhatsApp and its parent company, Facebook.

Pressing the “accept” button on the new terms allows WhatsApp to share all of your user data with Facebook. This may include account details, certain metadata associated with your chats, and location information that may exceed what your “regular” location sharing settings allow. Users in countries where WhatsApp Pay is enabled may have their financial details linked to their Facebook account, and even data about a user’s phone model, mobile network, battery level and other technical details will now be accessible by the social networking giant.

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After Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, it gave users the option to opt-out of data sharing between the two apps. However, this time, no choice is being given. If you don’t want to accept the terms that come into effect on February 8, you have only one option: delete WhatsApp from your phone.

That may not be a realistic option for many people. WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users around the globe, a figure even more impressive when you consider that the app is banned in China. In Israel, WhatsApp is a ubiquitous and indispensable tool. A recent survey by GlobalWebIndex found that about 81% of Israelis said they had used WhatsApp in the past month, more than any other social media platform.