It was announced earlier this week that WhatsApp was going to begin sharing its data with Facebook. Of course, that got everyone a bit miffed and upset with WhatsApp, considering the company stated that users privacy would never be affected by the sale to Facebook. Which the company is sticking to, as they are only sharing anonymous data (usage data and such) as well as phone numbers with Facebook. And the reason for this is for better ads. It’s really no different than the information that you share with Google. However, WhatsApp has left a way for users to opt out of sharing their information with Facebook. And here’s how you do it.
There’s a couple ways this can be done. WhatsApp recently updated their terms of service, and the next time you open up the WhatsApp app, it’s going to direct you to reread the terms of service before you can continue using the service. At the bottom, there’s a check box to opt out of sharing information with Facebook. Just simply uncheck it, and you’re good to go.
The second way is by going into the Settings of Facebook, then tapping on “Account” and at the bottom, you’ll see an option that says “Share my account info”. If you uncheck that, it’ll ask you if you’re sure you don’t want to share your information with Facebook. It also states that this is used to improve Facebook ads. Just tap “Don’t Share” there and you’re all set. You’ll then see a toast message confirming that your information won’t be shared, and the option goes away entirely.
Sharing data with Facebook will always make users cringe. Even if it is something that Facebook likely already has access to, especially if you’ve ever used their mobile app. But allowing users to opt of the data sharing is definitely a good thing for WhatsApp, and it also means that they’ll be staying out of court regarding this information sharing change. WhatsApp is a free app for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. These instructions were for the Android app, but they will likely work for other platforms too.
