WhatsApp has now started using its Status Updates page to reach Indian users on the platform. The service is using the medium to inform users of its commitment to privacy amidst the ongoing crisis that started after WhatsApp made its new privacy policy live in India in January.
“One thing that isn’t new is our commitment to your privacy,” says one of the status updates, while another reads, “WhatsApp can’t read or listen to your personal conversations as they’re end-to-end encrypted.”
The messages are part of a larger group of actions that WhatsApp and Facebook have been taking lately to avoid any confusion over the new policy. The policy offered users no choice but to accept the terms before February 8 or discontinue using WhatsApp. However, it has now pushed back the date of effect to May 15.
“We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update. There’s been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts,” wrote WhatsApp in a blog post last month.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also recently spoke on the confusion over the updated policy. “To clarify some confusion that we’ve seen, this update does not change the privacy of anyone’s messages with friends and family,” said Zuckerberg.
“All of these messages are end-to-end encrypted, which means we can’t see or hear what you say, and we never will unless the person you messaged chooses to share it. And business messages will only be hosted on our infrastructure if the business chooses to do so,” he added.
Telegram, Signal continue to reap benefits
Amidst WhatsApp’s troubles, popular instant messaging apps Signal and Telegram continue to grow in strength and popularity. While the feature-packed Telegram has recently added a new feature that lets users bring their WhatsApp chat history to Telegram, Signal has recently added new customization features including custom chat wallpapers.