WHATSAPP USERS WILL BE BLOCKED UNLESS THEY AGREE TO FACEBOOK PRIVACY CHANGES

Recently, the mobile messaging service, WhatsApp, updated its terms and conditions. These T's and C's now incorporate further Facebook integration, including a requirement that app users share their data with the platform.

WhatsApp was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton who had previously spent 20 years combined at Yahoo. Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. Currently, more than two billion people in over 180 countries use the app. 

WhatsApp, currently available as a free download, sent out an in-app message to all its users this week. It stated that the changes will include updates to their service and how it processes your data. Also mentioned is how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats. Lastly, it states how WhatsApp will partner with Facebook to offer integrations across Facebook Company products.

WhatsApp also confirmed in the message that these changes will officially come into effect from 8 February. Users were also warned that any user who has not agreed to the new terms, will no longer be able to use the messaging service after the set date.

It has been reported that some of the data WhatsApp collects include the phone numbers of users and the numbers of the contacts stored in their address books. Profile names, profile pictures, status message, the time log of when a user was last online, and diagnostic data collected from app logs are also recorded.

The new terms give Facebook the right to share collected data with its family of companies.