WhatsApp’s new terms go live on April 11—but the real issue is the changes behind those new terms and making sure you understand the risks...
New WhatsApp terms hit in ten days time
WhatsApp is changing. Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) has mandated that WhatsApp—and others—open their platforms to third-party chats. WhatsApp has been the most open so far around how it will handle these changes.
And with changes come new terms—and an April 11 deadline that’s fast approaching. These new terms impact those in Europe—the policy is not changing elsewhere, but the updates are generating publicity globally and will change how WhatsApp works. It’s critical that all users understand those changes and avoid the risks that follow.
There is always a sensitivity with new WhatsApp privacy terms, especially against an “accept or lose your account” backdrop. This stems from its ownership by Meta, and a deep-seated suspicion that the world’s leading data harvester would grab more of your data if it could, and memories of January 2021, when WhatsApp mishandled another change in terms to such an extent that it prompted a global backlash.
The new privacy and service terms deal with those EU changes, accepting that the platform is opening its walled garden to other providers, and leveling the minimum age for users on the platform down to 13. It had been 16 in Europe previously.
There is no additional personal data sharing with Meta or elsewhere as part of the changes—the new data terms cover third-party chat facilitation only, and the legal basis on which WhatsApp shares existing data internationally.
It’s the third-party chats that will rightly grab attention, though. This is a security and privacy challenge for the world’s leading secure messenger, and it has warned that its current level of security will reduce as soon as you message one of those services:
“The E2EE promise Meta provides to users requires us to control both the sending and receiving clients. While we have built a secure solution for interop[erability] that uses the Signal Protocol encryption to protect messages in transit, without ownership of both clients (endpoints) we cannot guarantee what a third-party provider does with sent or received messages, and we therefore cannot make the same promise... We believe it is essential that we give users transparent information about how interop works and how it differs from their chats with other WhatsApp or Messenger users... Users need to know that our security and privacy promise, as well as the feature set, won’t exactly match what we offer in WhatsApp chats.”
“By continuing to use WhatsApp after 11 April 2024,” the platform says, “you accept these updates to our Terms of Service,” adding that “if you do not want to accept, you can learn more about your account options,” which links to a fairly stark one-option message: “You can also easily delete your account if you prefer not to accept our Terms, though we'll be sorry to see you leave WhatsApp.”
There’s no reason to delete your account or worry unduly about the new terms, but you should clearly understand how the new functionality affects you.
Bear WhatsApp’s warning in mind. Proceed with more caution where a third-party chat is concerned than where those you’re messaging are also on WhatsApp. Also be wary as to how you’ll be found on WhatsApp from those other apps. As this becomes clearer, we’ll provide advice on maintaining your privacy.
This isn’t just a Europe issue. It’s a warning that impacts all users. When any platform of WhatsApp’s size changes this publicly and significantly, the scammers and fraudsters come out from under their rocks. There will be email and text campaigns, both on WhatsApp and elsewhere, tricking users into clicking to engage third-party chats or to protect their accounts.
Ignore everything.
There will also likely be fraudulent copycat apps on third-party stores purporting to offer access between WhatsApp and other platforms, and using public media reports to cloak their malicious campaign with seeming legitimacy.
Again, ignore everything and do not click any links or install any apps.
For those of you in Europe whose kids are now old enough to use WhatsApp—if they’re not already, there’s a helpful video above that your kids can watch.
Finally, as an example of things not to do with your WhatsApp account as these changes take place, there has been some online advice to export your WhatsApp chats to Telegram. This is a definite no-no. And you can read why here.
My messaging advice has not changed through these latest updates. Stick to WhatsApp as your daily, and use Signal where security and privacy is of the utmost importance. Keep an open mind as RCS links iPhone and Android in the fall. Absent a major change, this won’t be end-to-end encrypted and so will not offer a secure, cross-platform alternative to WhatsApp, Signal and others.
