WhatsApp says it will begin sharing more data with Facebook and will start letting some companies send messages to users.
It is the first time the company has changed its privacy policy since the firm was bought by Facebook in 2014.
WhatsApp
will now share users' phone numbers with the social network, which it
will use to provide "more relevant" friend suggestions and
advertisements.
One analyst said some people might feel "betrayed" by the move.
Data sharing WhatsApp
said sharing users' phone numbers with Facebook would help tackle spam
and abuse, as well as offer people "better friend suggestions and more
relevant ads".
Using the data, Facebook will be able to match
people who have exchanged phone numbers, but have not added one another
as "friends" on the social network.
WhatsApp will also share
information about when people last used the service, but said it would
not share the contents of messages, which are encrypted.
"Your
encrypted messages stay private and no-one else can read them. Not
WhatsApp, not Facebook, nor anyone else," the company said in a
blogpost.
The company said users would be able to opt out of
sharing information with Facebook by following the steps outlined on its
website.
Marketing messages The updated privacy policy also paves the way for businesses to send messages to WhatsApp users.
The
company suggested messages typically sent via SMS text message - such
as airline flight alerts or bank balance updates - could be sent via
WhatsApp instead.
It said that in addition to appointment information and delivery notifications, it would also allow "marketing" messages.
"Messages you may receive containing marketing could include an offer for something that might interest you," the company said.
Ms Clark-Dickson said users may not mind the service "if they can opt in and the messages are useful".
"It will help them generate revenue if they charge businesses a fee to send messages," she told the BBC.
"But WhatsApp needs to be careful, a lot of people use it because they don't get advertising there."
The
company said it would test such messaging features in the coming
months, but promised to avoid a "spammy experience" where people are
inundated with ads.
Other messaging apps such as China's WeChat
have already enabled business-to-consumer communication to great
success, but Ms Clark-Dickson suggested WhatsApp would take a different
approach.
"WeChat is a content-driven platform," she told the BBC.
"It
opened up its platform to third parties, letting people make payments,
book taxis. That seems to be the direction Facebook is taking Messenger.
"WhatsApp
has the potential to be a great communication facility, if it
concentrates on a solid user experience as its differential." |
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