WhatsApp wants users to accept its updated privacy policy, and it's going to great length to make that happen.
When the messaging app announced its plan for an updated privacy policy, a mass exodus happened soon after.
When WhatsApp then tried to explain itself, to say that people are receiving the context all wrong, there is nothing that could stop WhatsApp users from using alternatives, like Signal and Telegram.
Even Microsoft trolls by promoting Skype as an alternative.
But WhatsApp knows that its user base is far beyond others in the competition, and it has the power to control them. It believes that its many users will have a hard time adjusting to a new world without the popular messaging app.
This is why the Facebook-owned app is confident that users can be forced to accept its impending policy changes, which is due to come into effect on May 15.
Read WhatsApp Delays Privacy Policy Update Amid Confusion And Mass User Exodus
According to reports, WhatsApp said that it will "slowly ask" users who have not yet accepted the policy changes to comply with the new terms, "in order to have full functionality of WhatsApp" after May 15.
If users still won't accept the terms after that date, "for a short time, these users will be able to receive calls and notifications, but will not be able to read or send messages from the app," the company added in the note.
The company confirmed to TechCrunch that the note accurately characterizes its plan, and that the "short time" is spanning to only a few weeks before May 15.
At the end, if users still won't accept its updated policy, WhatsApp's has another policy for inactive users, which states that accounts are "generally deleted after 120 days of inactivity."
In other words, not agreeing to its privacy policy change will restrict pretty much of WhatsApp.
And if users start to flee after that, WhatsApp's is ready to say goodbye.
It was only in February 2021 that WhatsApp announced its plans.
But soon, the plan was misinterpreted by many users. Many began to think that the platform would share their messages with parent company Facebook.
Because of this, WhatsApp re-introduced its privacy policy in order to avoid confusion.
And to make sure that users get the message right, WhatsApp reminds people that its service is free, and explaining where it gets its money to make that happen.
"We also think it’s important people know how we can provide WhatsApp for free. Every day millions of people start a WhatsApp chat with a business because it’s easier to do so than placing a phone call or exchanging emails," said WhatsApp. "We charge businesses to provide customer service on WhatsApp - not people."
"Some shopping features involve Facebook so that businesses can manage their inventory across apps. We display more information directly in WhatsApp so people can choose if they want to engage with businesses, or not.
WhatsApp is also end-to-end encrypted, meaning that whatever WhatsApp is doing or planning to do, it won't be able to read its users' messages.
In other words, WhatsApp is saying that it is not having a change of mind or a change of heart.