WhatsApp has outlined what will happen to the app if users don’t agree to its new terms of service.
The messaging service in January warned users they had until February 8 to agree to planned changes, which deal primarily with businesses using WhatsApp to send and store consumer texts. WhatsApp later delayed the rollout to May 15, giving people less than three months to accept the terms or find a new platform.
In a new FAQ, the Fcaebook-owned messaging platform explains that users who don’t accept the new terms after May 15 will eventually encounter “limited functionality” on the app until the updated terms are accepted.
“No one will have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of WhatsApp on May 15 because of this update,” according to the firm’s FAQ page. “For the last several weeks we’ve displayed a notification in WhatsApp providing more information about the update. After giving everyone time to review, we’re continuing to remind those who haven’t had the chance to do so to review and accept,” the site said. “After a period of several weeks, the reminder people receive will eventually become persistent.”
Following the period of persistent reminders, people who haven’t accepted the terms won’t be able to access their chat list. However, they will still be able to answer incoming phone and video calls.
Also, with notifications enabled, users can tap on them to respond to a message or call back a missed phone or video call. But after this, WhatsApp will dial back functionality for users who haven’t accepted the terms.
“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,” WhatsApp says in the FAQ.
In other words, anyone who fails to accept the new terms will eventually lose access most of the key functionalities. This means, eventually, each and every WhatsApp user will need to accept the new privacy policy to be able to use all functionalities of the app.
