New Delhi: Despite controversy over its new terms of service (ToS), WhatsApp has not seen a drop in usage in India, said Will Cathcart, WhatsApp’s Global CEO.
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Q1. While many in India seem to have downloaded the competing WhatsApp apps, have you seen a drop in the usage of the platform in India?
We are thankful that people continue to use and trust WhatsApp to communicate with family, friends, and colleagues. We know we need to compete for consumer trust when it comes to privacy. We think competition on privacy is good because it will help make apps even more private and secure in the future. Some apps say they have end-to-end encryption for group chairs, and they don’t. WhatsApp groups are protected by end-to-end encryption.
Q2. Could you explain exactly what the new ToS change means for users, from a WhatsApp perspective?
We value feedback and know how much our customers value privacy and security. Your personal conversations with friends and family – including groups – are protected by end-to-end encryption. We can’t see them. We’ll show a security tab at the top of the conversation so you know how secure your messages are. We recognize that there has been some upheaval over the past week and we want to help set the record straight.
We want to make it clear that the policy update does not affect the privacy of your personal messages by friends or family in any way. Instead, this update introduces changes related to sending messages to business on WhatsApp, which is optional, and provides more transparency on how we collect and process. data usage. This has become more important over the past year with people needing long distance trading. We are building new ways in the short term for people to shop on WhatsApp for businesses to manage and reply to messages. Once launched, this will be available to all, but it will be up to people to decide whether to do so.
Q3. Would WhatsApp be able to build the WhatsApp Business platform without the use of user data?
We have thought long and hard about how to build a business while maintaining the privacy and security of people’s conversations. That’s what we’re building on now. And ultimately we think it’s good for people to understand the business strategy behind the apps they use. That is why we announced our plans years in advance.
Q4. Many users and privacy experts have said that adopting the new ToS should be an option that does not involve losing access to WhatsApp. Do you agree?
Even though these are optional features we believe it is important that everyone knows how we protect and safeguard their information. Not everyone may talk to business today, but some will in the future. We think it is important for everyone to know about these options but of course it is up to the consumer whether they want to get involved in business or not. Also, this update helps with general transparency and introduces changes to account for those communications. We listen carefully to the feedback we receive and are always looking for ways to improve how we communicate our core values around privacy and security. We want people to be sure that their personal chairs, with family and friends, remain completely safe.