Millions of people have been seeing a full-screen notice on their smartphone every day for months: Whatsapp is updating its terms of use and would like to see the changes accepted – by May 15th. What does that mean? And what is the threat if you refuse? An overview.
What happens on saturday
More than two billion users should accept the new terms of use and a revised data protection declaration by Saturday. This deadline was originally supposed to expire at the beginning of February. But the little pop-up caused huge panic. Whatsapp therefore postponed the deadline by three months.
What is really going to happen on Saturday?
Possibly nothing at all – at least not right away. “No accounts are (…) deleted and functionality is not restricted”, insured Whatsapp itself. A few days ago it sounded different: Actually, Whatsapp wanted to start on May 15th to put unruly users on cold withdrawal. “You will (…) not be able to read or send messages in the app,” said an earlier version of the statement.
But the outrage is great, which is probably why Whatsapp wants to display the reminder for “a few weeks” until the pop-up is permanently over the chat view. Then you can continue to accept voice and video calls or answer messages. It is no longer possible to start a chat yourself. After “a few weeks”, Whatsapp should finally fall silent. However, the vague times given in the past few months leave room for further postponements.
What will change with the new conditions?
Whatsapp wants to earn money with its corporate customers. It is therefore revising the terms of use and giving companies the opportunity to communicate directly with users. Whatsapp also changes some passages of the privacy policy to make it clearer how it manages information. But the two biggest fears do not apply: On the one hand, messages remain end-to-end encrypted, WhatsApp can never see the content. On the other hand, metadata is shared with the parent company so that Facebook can find out who opens the app and when and with whom. In the EU, however, the General Data Protection Regulation prevents this information from being used for advertising purposes.
Then why all the fuss?
The violent backlash is partly based on rumors and scare tactics, and partly it is self-inflicted: the world’s largest communications service provider communicated poorly. The original notice in the app was poor, nowhere were the changes clearly explained. As before, the information is distributed over several documents, which are available in different versions for the EU and the rest of the world and which sometimes even contradict each other.
An example: Whatsapp assuredthat data within the EU are not passed on to Facebook “in order to offer more relevant advertising experiences on Facebook” – this formulation is restricted by the word “currently” itself. It also says in the privacy policyWhatsapp has a legitimate interest in processing personal data in order to send direct mail. But that has been there for years and has nothing to do with the current changes.
Can the consent be revoked?
No. Once you have accepted the changes, you cannot go back. Those who regret the click have to hope in Johannes Caspar. The Hamburg data protection officer banned Facebook on Tuesdayto “process personal data from Whatsapp, provided this is done for our own purposes”. Caspar is of the opinion that the new conditions give Facebook additional powers.
“The arrangement is intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the many millions of users,” he says. Whatsapp announces that Caspar’s assessment is based “on a fundamental misunderstanding” and “will not have any influence on the further introduction of the update”. Indeed doubt also lawyers as other data and consumer advocateswhether the new terms of use are the right cause for the arrangement. Regardless of this, the decree could prevent Facebook from using WhatsApp data for advertising purposes at some point. At least on Facebook’s own promises you shouldn’t give much: the company has broken them often enough in the past.
Should I switch to a different messenger?
Many people seem to be asking themselves this question. In a survey, four out of ten respondents in Germany stated that they had already tried a new service. The most popular alternative option, however, was the messenger from the parent company Facebook – which is guaranteed to use the usage data for advertising purposes. If you haven’t had a problem with WhatsApp so far, you don’t have to switch, after all, hardly anything changes. This is not necessarily a cause for concern. Whether with old or new terms of use: data ends up on Facebook.
What are the alternatives?
The bad news first: The most popular WhatsApp alternative that has nothing to do with Facebook is called Telegram – and by default it does not protect messages with end-to-end encryption. In addition, the operators apparently understand freedom of expression to include Nazis, criminals and violent conspirators may use the service unhindered.
The good news: With Signal and Threema, there are secure and privacy-friendly messengers that have also benefited from the WhatsApp confusion. Where you used to have to talk to yourself or only meet a few convicts, you can now find many people on your contact list. And the more families, parent groups and sports teams switch their chats, the less the need to continue using Whatsapp.