WhatsApp is going to share your WhatsApp data with Facebook, but the app must first ask for your permission. Follow the steps in this tip to prevent this information from being shared with Facebook.
Do not share WhatsApp data with Facebook
WhatsApp shocked a large part of its users yesterday when it was announced that the app would share data with Facebook, and that the app will allow commercial messages from companies. As a user, you cannot do much about the latter, but you can prevent your data from being shared with parent company Facebook.
When you start WhatsApp in the next few days, you can be greeted with a news welcome screen. You can recognize this by the large green circle in the middle. As soon as you see this you have to pay attention, because here you can immediately prevent WhatsApp from sharing your data with Facebook. You do this as follows:
Not sharing WhatsApp data with Facebook explained
- Tap the blue arrow at the bottom left of the screen (so don’t tap agree)
- A new screen appears with all the conditions
- Set the green switch at the bottom of the screen to white to prevent WhatsApp from sharing your data with Facebook.
Thirty days
It is important to do this as soon as possible, because WhatsApp only gives you 30 days to change these conditions. If you have accidentally entered the information incorrectly, you can still revoke the conditions in the settings of WhatsApp under the heading ‘account’ in the next thirty days. After these thirty days you automatically agree and you can do this not change more.
Because these conditions are being rolled out gradually, they may not appear on you yet. So keep an eye on the app when starting up in the coming weeks. Do you see it after these new terms of use? Then you can of course also choose to ignore WhatsApp and switch to another chat app. Telegram for example, or Signal. You can read more about these WhatsApp alternatives in the article below.
Also read: Not in the mood for WhatsApp ads? You can switch to these chat apps
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