Facebook’s popular (and more recently, highly controversial) messaging app may need to cool it on its terms of service ultimatum. This comes as India, WhatsApp’s largest market (totalling 340 million users) has decided to challenge the app’s forced privacy policy update.

This week, India’s technology ministry confronted WhatsApp parent company Facebook, saying that the new terms in its updated privacy policy infringe on the individual choice of Indian users. It’s turned into more of a demand, with the ministry calling on the company to withdraw its latest changes. Oof.

WhatsApp’s golden child

It’s clear Facebook has invested a lot of time and features in India, launching its first payment system through WhatsApp in the country. Facebook’s also got a few additional plans up its sleeves for India, including partnering with insurance companies to sell health insurance through the app.

“The proposed changes raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens,” the ministry of electronics & IT wrote in an e-mail to WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart dated 18 January. “Therefore, you are called upon to withdraw the proposed changes.”

It still looks like WhatsApp’s not ready to back down on its new privacy updates, and still hold strong that it’s not that bad. Which is why it did the ‘admirable’ thing and launched a campaign convincing users that the update doesn’t share more information with Facebook than it has before. Which in itself, is terrifying.

Users around the world have been porting to other messaging platforms that ensure slightly more security and exhibit more concern for people’s personal information. This is also true for India, a country where WhatsApp may face losing far more users than it planned.

Source: TechCentral