WhatsApp update: WhatsApp users may lose access if they don’t accept new terms of service. The popular messaging service will reportedly update its terms of service in the coming year, which will take effect starting February 8. If users do not agree to the new privacy rules, however, they could lose access to the messaging app. WABetaInfo shared a screenshot of the new Terms and Privacy Policy Updates, where it’s clearly stated that users can either accept the new terms or ‘delete’ their accounts. The Facebook-owned app confirmed separately that all users must agree or lose access otherwise.
WhatsApp already has its terms of service and privacy policies based on which the app handles user data and information. This would be the first time that WhatsApp is alerting users of the updated terms of service, and also requiring them to accept these terms. WhatsApp will inform users about this new update through an in-app banner. This is supposed to be the first in-app announcement on WhatsApp, according to WABetaInfo.
WhatsApp will now start notifying users about new features and changes through in-app announcements, WABetaInfo said in a blog post. This feature is said to be already active and the first announcement will be of WhatsApp changing its terms of service. This is where things get interesting. The announcement reads, “By tapping Agree, you accept the new terms, which take effect on February 8, 2021. After this date, you’ll need to accept the new terms to continue using WhatsApp or you can always delete your account.”
Now, this could be about a simple formality that users have to comply with but WhatsApp told The Independent that users “must agree” to these terms to continue using the app. The new terms of service are about WhatsApp’s service and how it processes your data. It’s also about how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats. The details of these updated terms aren’t known yet but it looks like there will be some major changes considering the need to “agree” to them.
Mean-while, India recorded 32,981 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of active coronavirus cases in the country to 3,96,729, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday. With 39,109 new recoveries, the number of overall recovered COVID-19 patients stands at 91,39,901, pushing the recovery rate to 94.37 percent today.
The overall COVID-19 cases reached 96,77,203, including 3,96,729 active cases and 91,39,901 recoveries. With 391 new deaths, the cumulative toll mounted to 1,40,573.
Also, the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker by the number of doses produced, has sought government approval for emergency use authorization of the coronavirus vaccine that it is developing with the University of Oxford and British drugmaker AstraZeneca, sources have said.
