androidheadlines : EU Warns WhatsApp & Yahoo Over Privacy Concerns

EU Warns WhatsApp & Yahoo Over Privacy Concerns

EU Warns WhatsApp & Yahoo Over Privacy ConcernsRecent months have been quite turbulent as far as online privacy issues are concerned.First, there was WhatsApp who announced that they'd start sharing user data with their parent company Facebook.Given how WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging apps on the planet, the fact that its developers decided to start disclosing users' phone numbers and some analytics data to one of the largest advertising businesses on the planet certainly raised some concerns.

WhatsApp Executives Say They're Committed to User Privacy

One of the reasons WhatsApp is such a popular messaging application is the fact that it uses end-to-end encryption of messages.But in August this year, WhatsApp announced that it would make the first change to its terms and privacy policy in four years, in order to share user phone numbers with Facebook.The measure displeased many and got some users worried about how WhatsApp was handling the privacy of their personal data.

EU Privacy Chiefs Investigate WhatsApp And Yahoo

The Article 29 Working Party (WP29), which consists of privacy chiefs from across the 28 nations in the European Union (EU), informed WhatsApp in an official letter that it has "serious concerns" about its sharing of user data with Facebook.The group also sent a letter to Yahoo about the 2014 breach and reports that it scanned its entire user database for U.S. law enforcement.Recently, Facebook announced that it's going to change its privacy policy to allow sharing of WhatsApp user data with its social network service for advertising purposes.

WhatsApp Leaders Say Company Committed to User Privacy

WhatsApp Founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton make the case for their company to begin handling business communication.They speak to WSJ's Jason Dean at the WSJDLive conference in Laguna Beach, Calif.LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.—WhatsApp remains committed to user privacy despite a recent move to start sharing some data with parent Facebook Inc. that alarmed some users and regulators, co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton said.In August, the messaging service said it would start sharing phone numbers and other user data with Facebook, which acquired the company in 2014.