WhatsApp has clarified how it will be treating the accounts of users who won’t be accepting its updated terms and policy. The information was posted on the company’s official website.
For those who choose not to accept the company’s updated terms, the app will continue to show a notification asking to accept. After a period of several weeks, the users will see a persistent reminder.
Once users see a persistent reminder, the WhatsApp app will switch to a limited functionality mode. In this mode, users won’t be able to access their chat list. If they receive a chat, they will be able to open it through their notifications and also respond to them. Any incoming audio and video calls can also be received.
A few weeks later, the user will stop receiving all calls and messages.
WhatsApp doesn’t put an exact date on any of these events, giving a nebulous period for each state that will seemingly vary based on users. Also, it’s not clear what relevance the previously mentioned May 15 date has any more, other than users will still be able to accept the terms and continue using their app after this date.
WhatsApp has assured that it won’t be deleting accounts. However, the app will become as good as useless after a few weeks if you don’t accept the terms anyway.
Earlier this year, WhatsApp updated its terms of service and privacy police. The changes outlined in this update almost entirely focused on interacting with businesses on WhatsApp. The initial notification announcing these changes that appeared in the app was somewhat vague, which caused the internet, with its lack of reading comprehension and patience to read anything longer than a tweet, to collectively lose its mind.
The company has since then spent a good part of the last couple of months informing users what the new terms actually mean for them. It also relaxed its initial deadline of May 15, which was when the app was supposed to be nerfed for those who chose not to accept the new terms. However, relaxed as they may be, the company will still eventually prevent you from using the app entirely, even if the changes don’t necessarily pertain to you.
