Instant Messaging service provider, WhatsApp has decided to hand over phone numbers of its users to Facebook, its parent organisations. A mobile phone number is mandatory for a person to avail a WhatsApp account.
Explaining the benefits of this WhatsApp in a blog post said, “By connecting your phone number with Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them. For example, you might see an ad from a company you already work with, rather than one from someone you’ve never heard of.”
However, not everyone is that excited. Facebook in the past was accused of privacy breaches and many infact don’t like intrusive ads. Most importantly, in 2014 during Facebook took over WhatsApp, the later had assured to protect privacy of its users at all cost.
However, Whatsapp reassured saying, “We won’t post or share your WhatsApp number with others, including on Facebook, and we still won’t sell, share, or give your phone number to advertisers.”
Ironically, Whatsapp has recently came out with end-to-end Encryption facility. It has in recent past introduced WhatsApp Calling, and messaging tools like WhatsApp for web and desktop.
The IM service provide now promising to bring many new features in coming days.
“We want to explore ways for you to communicate with businesses that matter to you too, while still giving you an experience without third-party banner ads and spam. Whether it’s hearing from your bank about a potentially fraudulent transaction, or getting notified by an airline about a delayed flight, many of us get this information elsewhere, including in text messages and phone calls. We want to test these features in the next several months, but need to update our terms and privacy policy to do so,” Whatsapp said in the blog post.