Whatsapp delays Privacy changes amid backlash from users

WhatsApp said on Friday that it would delay a planned privacy update, as the Facebook-owned messaging service tries to restrict a backlash by users worried about the changes.

Under updated terms, the app would be allowed to share users’ data, including location and phone number, with its parent company Facebook and its units such as Instagram and Messenger.

The Facebook-owned company said it is “going to do a lot more to clear up misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp.”

Privacy rights activists heavily criticized the WhatsApp changes, saying it was the latest step showing Facebook’s poor handling of user data.

“We’ve heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update,” the company wrote Friday in a blog post. “There’s been a lot of misinformation causing concern and we want to help everyone understand our principles and the facts,” post added.

WhatsApp users received a notification earlier in January that it was preparing a new privacy policy and terms, and it reserved the right to share some user data with the Facebook app. The miscommunication around WhatsApp’s new policies has helped lead to a spike in user growth for competing apps, such as Signal and Telegram.