It seems that WhatsApp (that is currently the most used instant messaging app, with more than one billion active users all over the world) and Facebook (who is also the owner of WhatsApp) are thinking again about sharing their users data. Recent news report that a new data-sharing deal is very close to completion.
Despite what happened last year, soon after WhatsApp’s announcement to change its privacy policy, it appears that at the end WhatsApp has decided to share its users data with Facebook. As a result, WhatsApp users could experience again great concerns about their privacy. What’s happening?
Helen Dixon, Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner and also EU regulator, who already worked on WhatsApp/Facebook case, on Tuesday told Reuters that an agreement between the two company is very close, saying that “I think we are in agreement with the parties – WhatsApp and Facebook – that the quality of the information provided to users could have been clearer, could have been more transparent and could have been expressed in simpler terms,” saying also “We are working towards a solution on that.” She also added that she hopes that a final agreement will be reached this summer.
It is known that Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion, and during the acquisition Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and owner, promised that they would have ensured that WhatApp users data would remain private and separate from Facebook, saying that “It would be pretty stupid of us to interfere.“.
At the time Jan Joum, WhatsApp founder, claimed that the app would have followed Facebook’s privacy policies, but through the years he also firmly stated that he would not allow user data to be used for advertising. The previous data-sharing plans between WhatsApp and Facebook were suspended in November, when the European Commission stated that Facebook “intentionally or negligently” submitted “misleading information” ahead of its WhatsApp takeover.