AfterDawn: Tech news

WhatsApp to share your number, data with Facebook unless you opt out

Written by James Delahunty @ 25 Aug 2016 2:08 User comments (3)

WhatsApp to share your number, data with Facebook unless you opt out

WhatsApp has updated its privacy policy for the first time in years and will share your phone number and other data with Facebook to offer more services.
WhatsApp had previously announced that it was seeking to find ways to make it possible for businesses to communicate with users. For example, it envisions a bank being able to contact a WhatsApp user through the service to inform them of a possibly fraudulent transaction or an airline notifying a user of a delayed flight.

In order to test out such additions to the service, WhatsApp has had to make the first change to its privacy policy since it was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion.

The most notable change however is WhatsApp intention to connect your phone number to your Facebook account, which some users won't be thrilled about.

"By coordinating more with Facebook, we'll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp," a company blog post reads.



For now, however, it possible to opt out either on the new Terms and Conditions screen or within 30 days after accepting the new Terms and Conditions.

Once the Terms and Privacy Policy screen come up, you will note there is another option below the green "Agree" button that reads: "Read more about the key updates to our Terms and Privacy Policy." If you tap on this message, another screen will come up with the option to opt out of sharing your WhatsApp account information with Facebook.

If you already accepted the new Terms, you can still opt out for a period of time by going to Settings -> Account -> Share my Account Info. There is an option in here to opt out too if you uncheck the box.


Sources and Recommended Reading:
Looking ahead for WhatsApp: blog.whatsapp.com

Previous Next  

3 user comments

125.8.2016 23:35

There is NO F*CKING INTEGRITY OR HONOR IN THIS!!!

"Opting out" for something like this is tantamount to calling a company and getting automated prompts telling you to "push 1 for English and 9 for Spanish"............when it SHOULD BE "Press 9 for Spanish otherwise hold for someone". It's total B.S. and should be opposite than what's being presented or offered. Shouldn't have to "opt out" on this but rather "opt in". As for the calling companies scenario...THIS IS AMERICA; where the default language is English you MOFOS!

If I could, I would F*CK the decision-maker on this one up in a dark alley!

I don't care what privacy agreements those two have with one another or with each indiv entity/person out there.........NO F*CKING REASON for this.......PERIOD!


Plz excuse my rant~

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 25 Aug 2016 @ 11:37

226.8.2016 00:28

I must say we in India are a fortunate lot. I do buy mu train and air tickets on line, of course from a desktop PC only. Similarly I do make payment transaction on line too. In all these cases I have submitted my mobile phone number to the service providers. They do not need to use any social media account to keep me updated. IF absolutely any activity takes place on my account I almost immediately, like in 4-5 seconds, get confirmation on my phone by way of a text message. So there is almost zero chance of fraudulent activity happening on any of my accounts. This is true even for transactions as low as Rs. 100/- ( $ 1.30).

31.9.2016 19:07

You do realize this is FB Right? Remember Snowden's PRIZM Leak? Yeah he wasn't kidding about just how aggressive FB is getting your phone number and geographical data including photos and personal information, they won't stop.

As for plane tickets if you buy From Travago, Expedia, kayak etc. keep in mind the same conglomerate owns all those companies and if you so much as give them a real cellular number when purchasing tickets you will forever be on an automated Telemarketing lists that will relentlessly call you. I would suggest handing out a fake phone number to anyone you have no reason for receiving a call from. If its that important they have your E-Mail.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available (28 Mar 2026 6:49)
Sony has announced that it is temporarily suspending the sale of memory cards used in mobile phones and digital cameras, among other things. The company states that the reason is problems with the availability of memory chips.
Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds (28 Mar 2026 6:17)
Austria is planning to ban social media for children under 14. The reform aims to protect children from harmful effects and addictions, but at the same time, it is problematic from a privacy perspective.
TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched (26 Mar 2026 1:56)
Serious security vulnerabilities have been discovered in several TP-Link router models, for which patches were released at the end of March 2026. The company urges users to update their router software immediately.
Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 (25 Mar 2026 4:32)
Google has advanced its estimate of when current forms of encryption will become insecure. The moment is called Q-Day, or Quantum Day, when the computational power of quantum computers will be sufficient to break currently used encryptions.
OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora (24 Mar 2026 6:28)
OpenAI has decided to shut down Sora, its AI video creator, just months after its release. The decision is due to issues such as copyright problems and the deepfake phenomenon.

News archive