WhatsApp users must accept new terms of service or delete their account: Report

WhatsApp is going to update its terms of service on February 8, 2021. WhatsApp will notify users of its new changes through in-app announcements, and those who don't agree to them might have to delete their account

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 to 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.