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| WhatsApp to give Facebook more data | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 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. | |
| How can I opt out of data sharing? | |
| "When WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook it was able to reassure users that it would remain independent," said Pamela Clark-Dickson, principal analyst at Ovum. | |
| "Now it's giving Facebook phone numbers - some might say that's a betrayal of trust. In a small way, it has gone back on what it said it wouldn't do." | |
| Business messaging | |
| 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." |