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Facebook blocked from ‘stealing’ Your WhatsApp Information.

In case you don’t know, Facebook is the owners of Whatsapp. The Tech Giant company has been rumored to be misusing WhatsApp. Facebook has been prevented from making use of UK citizens’ WhatsApp data for purposes beyond the chat app itself.

WhatsApp just changed its terms and conditions, which now allow it to share information, such as your phone number, with Facebook.

Facebook blocked from ‘stealing’ Your WhatsApp Information.

According to a publication by BBC

The UK commissioner  said this would have breached existing data protection laws.

The US firm has now promised not to access the information until it becomes compliant with a new set of rules.

This is a reference to the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on 25 May.

Block WhatsApp From Sharing Your Contacts To Facebook

The legislation introduces new rules, including giving individuals the right to know the information an organisation holds about them – including data obtained from others.

Privacy ‘violation’

At present, Facebook refuses to share so-called “shadow profile” information it has gathered about people via their friends and acquaintances.

It told the Gizmodo news site last year that it thought this would amount to a privacy violation of those who had provided the data.

Since then, the firm has given a commitment to make changes to obey the new rules.

The information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, noted that a German court had confirmed the country’s own data-sharing ban with regard to WhatsApp and Facebook earlier this month.

Image result for Facebook blocked from 'stealing' Your WhatsApp Information.

In addition, she highlighted that the ICO’s French equivalent was also in the process of bringing its own enforcement action against the company.

“I would like to stress that signing an undertaking is not the end of the story,” she added.

“I will closely monitor WhatsApp’s adherence to it,”

 

What information is being shared with Facebook?

The updated WhatsApp FAQ page says that the phone number you used to sign up for WhatsApp with will be shared, as well as the last time you used the service.

Thanks to end-to-end encryption, Facebook will not be able to see your messages, photos or other media you share. Only you and the person you send messages to will ever be able to see that information. And any information that is shared by WhatsApp will not be publicly visible to anyone using Facebook. Meaning, if WhatsApp shares your phone number with Facebook, it won’t fill in the phone number field on your profile and make it visible to anyone.

Why is your information being shared?

The FAQ page says sharing your information with Facebook will help the two companies “coordinate more.” The claim is that it will help them “fight spam and abuse” more efficiently, as well as — and this is likely the bigger and more feasible reason — “improve your experiences within [Facebook] services” through targeted ads.

They say having your number will help them deliver product suggestions from companies “you already work with” versus one you’re not familiar with. How your phone number makes this possible isn’t exactly clear.

 

How to stop WhatsApp from sharing your data with Facebook

Image result for Facebook blocked from 'stealing' Your WhatsApp Information.

Fortunately, you can opt out and remove yourself from the whole situation very easily. Here’s how:

  • Open WhatsApp on your phone.
  • On Android, tap the action overflow button in the upper right corner and select Settings. On iOS, tap the Settings tab in the lower right corner.
  • Select Account.
  • Tap the check mark to the right of Share my account info.
  • To disable the feature, tap Don’t Share.
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