WhatsApp sent an app notice to its users on Tuesday, informing
them about its updated privacy policy and terms of service which will take
effect from February 8. The key changes include how the app shares information
with Facebook and its subsidiaries and how it collects and handles user data.
Users will have to accept the changes in order to continue using the
application.

Here’s all you need to know about the new privacy policy: 

Updates with regard to other Facebook
Company products or third-party services 

The new policy states
that when users rely on “third-party services or other Facebook Company Products that
are integrated with our Services, those third-party services may receive
information about what you or others share with them.” For example: using an
in-app video player to view content from a third-party platform. In such cases,
information such as the user’s IP address may be provided to the third-party.

Hardware information 

Information such as a device’s “battery level,
signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network, connection
information, language and time zone, IP address, and device operations
information” will be collected by WhatsApp.

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Date storage

WhatsApp has mentioned in the updated policy that it
uses Facebook’s global infrastructure to store user data. In some cases, the
data maybe transferred to Facebook’s data centres in the United States or other
parts where the company’s affiliate companies are based.

Deleting WhatsApp account 

According to the new policy, if a user deletes the
app just from the device without using the in-app delete feature, his/her
information will remain stored with the platform.