WhatsApp reassured its users Monday that it's not to going to be like Facebook Inc. when it comes to privacy. This is to silence speculations that Facebook will be using the service to get more data from users.
"Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA, and we built WhatsApp around the goal of knowing as little about you as possible: You don't have to give us your name and we don't ask for your email address," stated WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum in a blogpost.
WhatsApp doesn't collect and store data of users such search activities, GPS location, names, addresses, and email addresses, and it will remain even after the acquisition, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"We are forming a partnership that would allow us to continue operating independently and autonomously. Our fundamental values and beliefs will not change. Our principles will not change. Everything that has made WhatsApp the leader in personal messaging will still be in place," he added on the blog post.
As an additional act of assurance, the instant messaging service also added a new user settings screen that would enhance the users' privacy. This new user setting screen amassed together a number of privacy options found dispersed around the application, and added new privacy settings, too.
One of the new settings was the option of the users to choose who can see their profile picture. Users are now allowed to choose who can see their profile picture. They can set it to be seen by no one, their contacts only, or by the public. The same settings can also be applied to the "last seen" note.
The new privacy settings also allow users to have an option of saving or keeping a backup file of their chat history upon first use of the app after the update - an option that was turned off by default.
