MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, WhatsApp announced changes to its privacy policy, stating its plans to share more user data with Facebook in order to increase the use of targeting advertisements and friend suggestions.
"The changes WhatsApp and Facebook are making will affect a lot of people. Some might consider it’ll give them a better service, others may be concerned by the lack of control… We’ve been informed of the changes. Organisations do not need to get prior approval from the ICO to change their approaches, but they do need to stay within data protection laws. We are looking into this," Denham said in a statement.
WhatsApp's privacy policy remained largely unchanged since its launch in 2010 aside from minor changes in 2012. In 2014, the messenger was purchased by Facebook, which at first pledged not to interfere with the existing use privacy and to minimize the number of advertisements.
