WhatsApp Is Going To Share Your Phone Number With Facebook

Global messenger service WhatsApp says it will start sharing phone numbers of its users with Facebook, its parent company. This means that WhatsApp users could soon start to see more targeted ads and Facebook Facebook friend suggestions based on WhatsApp information, but not in the own messaging service.
The measure is a subtle but important change for WhatsApp, used by more than 1 billion people worldwide. When it was acquired by Facebook as a surprising $ 21.8 billion two years ago, the leaders promised privacy could be preserved.
"This is a heavy-handed tactics by Facebook," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy in Washington, DC "They campaign depart on our rights to privacy."

WhatsApp gives users a limited time to choose not to share your information with Facebook, despite having to take the extra step to uncheck a box to do this time. Facebook also said it will not publish online phone numbers or give them to everyone.
But the social networking giant has been looking for ways to make money from buying WhatsApp service there two years. At the same time, Facebook is determined not interfere with the promise of co-founders longtime WhatsApp to respect user privacy and prevent advertisers outside their messaging platform.
WhatsApp Thursday offered a glimpse of his plans to turn the tap of money, the publication of new documents describing the company's privacy policy and terms of service that users must agree to follow. The document is the first revision of these policies since 2012, before Facebook acquired WhatsApp.
One of the changes following through previous advice by WhatsApp leaders, who said they are exploring ways for businesses to communicate with customers in WhatsApp. This could include the use of WhatsApp to provide receipts, confirm a reservation or to update the delivery status.

Companies can also send marketing messages or offers on sales to individual customers, according to new documents, taking into account that users can control or block these messages. WhatsApp says it will continue to bar graphs ads traditional service.
"We do not want you to have an experience of spam," the company said users in a summary of new policies.
Another change is potentially more controversial: WhatsApp says it will begin to "coordinate" the accounts with Facebook, exchanging mobile phone numbers and users of WhatsApp information devices, such as the operating system type and other smartphone features. The company says Facebook will use the internal phone number to better identify users of WhatsApp on Facebook, so you can make suggestions of friends or a targeted advertising program.
The ads come through a Facebook called "personalized public" program, which allows a business expense lists and customer phone numbers or other contact information activities has chosen the warranty card or other sources. Facebook is the list of users with the same information and shows them ads. Facebook says it will not disclose user information to advertisers.

Phone numbers are valuable to WhatsApp Facebook. While the social network has multiple phone numbers that do not require users to give them, and not always the most recent issue of everyone on Facebook. But no one in WhatsApp must provide a current phone number, because that is how WhatsApp know where to send messages.
Accounts coordination can draw fire from defenders of privacy. WhatsApp has long promised not to use user data for advertising. Its acquisition by Facebook two years ago brought complaints of activists who were concerned that the new owner would begin extracting WhatsApp accounts. Although both companies operate WhatsApp committed separated from his father, the Federal Trade Commission warned publicly in a letter of 2014, against changing the way they use data from WhatsApp users without users' consent.

WhatsApp said that current users have up to 30 days to accept the new terms of policy or stop using the service. Once they accept, they have 30 days to choose not to share with Facebook.

Groups privacy praised WhatsApp for powerful encryption built into their services, so it is impossible for the company or any other person to read the users messages. WhatsApp promises that encryption will remain, so that neither Facebook or WhatsApp would be able to use the message content for advertising purposes.
But defenders of privacy have also criticized the 30-day window to withdraw.
"Very few people retire, should be an informed choice," said Chester. "No data should be used if people are informed honestly about how they will use."