Govt may seek explanation from WhatsApp over user-privacy row

WhatsApp, earlier in the month, released revised terms of service and user privacy policy to its messenger app subscribers. The company said the users must comply with the new change or else they are free to uninstall the application.

WhatsApp clarified that the one-to-one and group chat with friends and family are fully encrypted, but said that the conversation between the users and business/shop owner on the messenger app may be used by its parent company Facebook and subsidiaries for marketing ads and promote its services.

This apparently angered users and lead to the mass migration of subscribers from WhatsApp to rival messenger apps. In the last three days alone, millions of users shifted their base to Telegram and Signal.

Must read | People begin to shun WhatsApp over privacy concerns

Now, the Indian government has stepped in to see if WhatsApp's revised terms of service violate the user-privacy of the citizens and also may seek an explanation from the Facebook-owned company, reported The Times of India.

It has come to light that WhatsApp has a different version of terms of service with the European Union, where all conversation on the messenger is encrypted by default in all types of communication including people-to-business chat. It won't share any data with Facebook or any other sister firms.

Even Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma highlighted the double standards of WhatsApp and slammed the company on Twitter.

It remains to be seen what steps the Indian government will take to see if there is any loophole in WhatsApp's terms of service and if there is, rectify it.

Also, it would be great if the company confirm that the user privacy policy introduced in India is on par with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.

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