WhatsApp has announced that it will be making changes to its privacy policy. In particular, starting February 8, the company will share data with its parent company, Facebook. Unlike previous data sharing with Facebook, users will not be able to opt out, making the change mandatory for users who wish to continue using the service.

The new privacy policy was discovered by XDA-Developers and will affect how WhatsApp processes data, how companies use data collected by Facebook, and how this new data integration will work in future products.

Data sharing with Facebook is not new, however; since 2016, WhatsApp has allowed interactions with Facebook, but users were given the option to opt out. This was inconsistent with WhatsApp's statement in 2014, following its acquisition by Facebook, promising to protect users' privacy

. The opt-out feature is no longer offered to WhatsApp users outside the EU, and it is unclear when it was removed.

Facebook claims that it will continue to maintain General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant privacy protections in all of its products.

Most of the new privacy policy is not much different from the changes made last July. The only major difference is that users must agree to share their data with Facebook or stop using WhatsApp altogether. This is easier said than done if everyone you know uses WhatsApp.

The information collected will be shared with "other Facebook companies" and may include account information, phone numbers, interactions with other users, IP addresses, and other information WhatsApp describes in the "Information We Collect" section of its privacy policy.

Rather importantly, WhatsApp is encrypted by default, so Facebook cannot see your message content. Nevertheless, information about who you message and how often you message them is fairly collected.

However, Facebook does collect this information in order to adjust the way the service operates. According to the company, this includes improving infrastructure and delivery systems, understanding how people actually use the service, fighting crime and spam, and improving the user experience.

This is because Facebook's idea of "improving the user experience" means personalization. In other words, the goal is to use algorithms to change the experience on Facebook to provide something that will make people stay longer.

This also includes personalized advertising, as ads make up the overwhelming majority of Facebook's revenue. In fact, in Q3 2020, almost 99% of global revenue came from advertising. Nevertheless, WhatsApp will not be offering its own ads anytime soon. In fact, its privacy policy explicitly forbids the display of third-party banner ads.

On a more positive note, data sharing allows WhatsApp accounts to connect to and use other Facebook services, such as Facebook Pay and Facebook Portal smart displays.

The new privacy policy is available on the WhatsApp website. The new privacy policy is available on the WhatsApp website; quitting WhatsApp won't do you any good if no one joins, and you have a little over a month to do so.