The company further said that it would work to counter the misinformation regarding the new update.

Despite global backlash, instant messaging platform WhatsApp has announced that it would go ahead with its controversial new privacy policy update. However, the Facebook-owned app said that it would provide users with more information regarding the new policy which they would be able to read at their own pace. The app would incorporate banners with additional information and these banners would appear as in-app notifications, the company said. The company further said that it would work to counter the misinformation regarding the new update. However, by the statement, it seems that WhatsApp would not be making this policy optional, even as the Government of India is reviewing the policy and several petitions have been filed against it. The only leverage that WhatsApp is ready to give to users is the time to understand the policy before they have to accept it by May 15. While WhatsApp has not explicitly said in the statement what would happen to accounts of users that refuse to accept these terms, reports have suggested the company would slowly ask users to accept the policy in order to retain full functionality of their accounts after the implementation in May. On its FAQ page, WhatsApp said that while the account would not be deleted, the users would not be able to have the full functionality of the features if they fail to accept the policy by May 15. The users would get calls as well as notifications from WhatsApp, but they would not be able to read or send messages anymore. On the other hand, users who wish to not accept the policy anyway would be able to export their chat history on Android or iOS platforms and would also be able to download the report of the account. They would also be able to delete their accounts. But the company cautioned that if the account has been deleted, there would be no way for it to be restored. So unless the users are absolutely sure about it, they should not go ahead with deleting their accounts. The company would be urging users to accept the updates before May 15 for uninterrupted services. However, users would still be able to accept the policy after May 15. For users who do not accept the policy by the cut-off date but also do not delete their accounts, the company’s policy for inactive users would apply. As per the policy, an account which has been inactive for 120 days would be deleted by the company. Moreover, the data that is stored locally on the phone before the deletion of the account would continue to remain on the phone unless the WhatsApp app is deleted from the device. Thus, once a user would re-register for WhatsApp using the same device, the locally stored data would appear on the app.