WhatsApp finds a middle way, will reportedly no longer force users to accept its new privacy policy

WhatsApp has run into massive opposition to its new privacy policy, designed to allow Facebook to leverage user data for marketing to business customers.

In presenting the policy to users WhatsApp said:

While not everyone shops with a business on WhatsApp today, we think that more people will choose to do so in the future and it’s important people are aware of these services.

WhatsApp initially planned to force users to agree to the policy or stop using the service, but WABetaInfo reports that the company has found a middle way that should be more acceptable to everyone involved.

The company will reportedly soon announce that users will only have to accept the new policy when they choose to communicate with businesses, which should leave users who want to leave commerce outside of their WhatsApp usage unaffected.

The news should satisfy the Indian IT ministry who complained of an “‘all-or-nothing’ approach takes away any meaningful choice from Indian users,” saying the approach “leverages the social significance of WhatsApp to force users into a bargain, which may infringe on their interests in relation to informational privacy and information security.”

The news shows that user opposition can result in meaningful change, and hopefully, this compromise will lay the matter to rest.

WhatsApp finds a middle way, will reportedly no longer force users to accept its new privacy policy