WhatsApp won’t delete accounts if users don’t accept its new privacy policy. It will, instead, gradually limit the app’s functionality.
Earlier this year, WhatsApp announced a new privacy policy that caused a real stir among users, as the Facebook-owned company tried to force people to accept the new terms – or stop using the app altogether.
WhatsApp extended the February deadline to May 15, but users are having none of it. Now, WhatsApp is relaxing the deadline, making it effective for new users. Existing users will be encouraged to accept, as they will have limited functionality until they do.
The app has displayed a notification about the updates for the last few weeks, but soon it will become persistent.
That’s where things start getting complicated. When you start receiving a persistent reminder to accept the updates, functionality on your app will be limited until you accept.
For example, you won’t be able to access your chat list – yet, you’ll still be able to answer the incoming phone and video calls. Furthermore, if you have notifications enabled, you will be able to tap on them to read a message, respond to it, or call someone back.
After experiencing limited functionality for a few weeks, you will stop receiving incoming calls or notifications, and you won’t receive incoming calls or notifications. Finally, WhatsApp will stop sending messages and calls to your device.
At any time, you can export your chat history and download a report of your account. Of course, you can also delete your account altogether.
Despite the above, WhatsApp says that it won’t delete your account if you never accept the updates, but keep in mind that you probably soon won’t be able to do much with your account if you don’t.