WhatsApp has updated its terms of service and privacy policy to inform users that it will begin sharing select user data with its parent company, Facebook. The messaging app will share such information as what phone number a user used to verify their account, and the last time a user accessed the service.
MacRumors notes that Facebook, which acquired the private messaging service in 2014, says they will use the information to provide better friend suggestions and targeted ads and offers to users of its own service.
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. And by connecting your phone number with Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them. For example, you might see an ad from a company you already work with, rather than one from someone you’ve never heard of.
The updated terms and privacy policy assure users that nothing they share on the service – such as messages, photos, and account information – will be publicly shared on Facebook. The new data sharing rules are also intended to help WhatsApp “do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp.”
If existing WhatsApp users don’t wish to allow the app to share their account information with Facebook, they can follow the steps laid out on the WhatsApp website.
