WhatsApp explains what will happen if users don’t accept its Terms of Service

WhatsApp’s new Terms of Service and privacy policy changes will come into effect on May 15, 2021. As per reports, the company has started sending in-app alerts to its users in order to prompt them into accepting the change. The in-app alert that the company is sending to its users indicates that users will not be able to use the service if they don’t accept the company’s ToS by May 15. But it remains uncertain as to what exactly will happen if WhatsApp users fail to hit the Accept button when the prompt shows up in the app. Now, the company has issued some clarification in this regard.

TechCrunch reviewed an email sent by the company to one of its merchant partners. In the email, the company said that it would ‘slowly ask’ the users who don’t accept its new ToS by May 15 to comply with the new terms. If these users still don’t accept the new terms, “for a short time, these users will be able to receive calls and notifications, but won't be able to read or send messages from the app.” WhatsApp has also updated its FAQ pages to reflect these changes.

The Facebook-owned messaging app on its FAQ page wrote that its policy related to inactive users will apply to users who don’t accept its new Terms of Service by May 15.

Notably, the company didn’t exactly define how long they will be able to use some of the app’s features if they fail to accept the new terms. But the company’s policy for inactive account states that “WhatsApp accounts are generally deleted after 120 days of inactivity. Inactivity means the user hasn’t connected to WhatsApp.” This means that after May 15, WhatsApp users have 120 days or roughly four months to accept the company’s new Terms of Service or risk losing access to their WhatsApp accounts completely.

WhatsApp says that before May 15, users can export their chat history on Android or iPhone, and download a report of their account. “If you’d like to delete your account on Android, iPhone, or KaiOS, we hope you reconsider. It is something we cannot reverse as it erases your message history, removes you from all of your WhatsApp groups, and deletes your WhatsApp backups,” the company wrote on its FAQ page explaining the changes.