We updated our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy on January 2021
We made changes to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy that relate to messaging between businesses and their customers on WhatsApp and began rolling it out in January 2021. As part of this update, we also provided more information about how we collect, share, and use data.
Our commitment to your privacy didn't change. Your personal conversations are still protected by end-to-end encryption, which means no one outside of your chats, not even WhatsApp or Meta, can read or listen to them.
It’s our responsibility to explain these updates clearly. Here are some things you should know:
What changed
You can talk to more businesses on WhatsApp to get things done faster compared to phone or email. This is completely optional.
Every day, millions of people use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses, large and small. You can message businesses to ask questions, make purchases, and get information. It's your choice whether you chat with a business on WhatsApp, and you can block or remove them from your contact list.
Bigger businesses, like an airline or retailer, might hear from thousands of customers at a time - asking for information on a flight, or trying to track their order. To make sure they can respond quickly, these businesses may use Meta as a technology provider to manage some of the responses on their behalf. We will clearly label chats to make you aware when that happens.
We provided further clarity about how we collect, share, and use data.
The changes to our Privacy Policy provide you with more detail on how we manage your information. We have added more detail to certain sections of our Privacy Policy and added new sections. We have also simplified the layout of the Privacy Policy and made it easier for users to navigate.
You can download a report of your WhatsApp account information and settings here.
What is not changing
The privacy and security of your personal chats with family and friends will never change.
Neither WhatsApp nor Meta can see the content you share with family and friends, which includes your personal messages and calls, the attachments you share, or the location you send. We do not keep logs of who everyone is messaging or calling, and WhatsApp does not share your contacts with Meta.
You are in control. It’s up to you whether or not you share your number with a business and you can block a business at any time.
WhatsApp will not give your number to a business, and our policies prohibit businesses from contacting you on WhatsApp without first receiving your approval to do so.
Our additional privacy features, such as setting your messages to disappear or controlling who can add you to groups, give you an added layer of privacy.
Your acceptance of the new Terms of Service does not expand WhatsApp’s ability to share user data with its parent company Meta.
For more information, please review our terms and privacy policy. You can also find answers to frequently asked questions here.