Haven't accepted new WhatsApp privacy policy? Don't worry, you will not lose app features

WhatsApp has clarified that no user will lose functionality, no matter if they have accepted the privacy policy or not.

In what may be a big relief, WhatsApp has said users who have not accepted the new privacy policy will not lose functionality after the deadline. The Facebook-owned chat app has been prompting millions of its users to accept the privacy policy since January earlier this year. The final deadline for that was May 15. WhatsApp now requires all its users in India to accept the new privacy policy, a move that has been at the centre of controversies ever since Facebook announced back in January that its users will have to give up a little more data about themselves to help businesses communicate better. And there were many users reluctant to accept the privacy policy that was thrown in their faces through frequent pop-ups in the app. Initially, there was confusion that their WhatsApp accounts would be deleted over -- something that led to the exodus of many users to rival platforms such as Signal and Telegram. Later, however, WhatsApp said it is not going to remove the accounts of these users. Then came another round of rumours that made the privacy policy a nightmare for many users. These users have feared that WhatsApp will take away features from the app if they do not accept the privacy policy. In fact, this resistance turned into a litmus test for several WhatsApp users. But now, WhatsApp has backtracked, again, on its plans to get users to accept the privacy policy. The Facebook-owned app will not terminate certain functionalities for these users.