Facebook is backtracking once again, saying it will not lock WhatsApp users out if they don’t accept new privacy terms.
Facebook sparked international furor when it announced in January that it would start sharing WhatsApp user data with other Facebook-owned companies. As part of the change, Facebook said users would be required to accept the new privacy policy or be locked out of their account. In response, users started abandoning the platform in favor of alternatives, and counties started coming out in opposition to the plans.
After pushing the deadline back, Facebook is charting a new course — although one that will likely still leave many users unhappy. According to a post on the company’s site, users that don’t accept the new terms won’t be locked out, but will be hampered by limited functionality.
You won’t be able to access your chat list, but you can still answer incoming phone and video calls. If you have notifications enabled, you can tap on them to read or respond to a message or call back a missed phone or video call.
After a few weeks of limited functionality, you won’t be able to receive incoming calls or notifications and WhatsApp will stop sending messages and calls to your phone.
While WhatsApp won’t be closing individuals’ accounts, the limited functionality may not be much of an improvement for many users.