For the very first time in four years and since being acquired by Facebook,
WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging platform is updating its terms and conditions , as well as its privacy
policy. Part of this update includes WhatsApp sharing your account
information with Facebook to, among other things, provide better targeted ads.
I know you’ll be wondering what part of your information is being shared to Facebook
Q – What information is being shared with Facebook?
The updated WhatsApp FAQ page says that the phone number you
used to sign up for WhatsApp with will be shared, as well as the last time you used the service.
Thanks to end-to-end encryption, Facebook will not be able to see your
messages, photos or other media you share. Only you and the person
you send messages to will ever be able to see that information. And
any information that is shared by WhatsApp will not be publicly visible
to anyone using Facebook. Meaning, if WhatsApp shares your phone
number with Facebook, it won’t fill in the phone number field on your
profile and make it visible to anyone.
Another question is why your information is being shared.
The FAQ page says sharing your information with Facebook will help
the two companies “coordinate more.” The claim is that it will help
them “fight spam and abuse” more efficiently, as well as and this is
likely the bigger and more feasible reason “improve your experiences
within [Facebook] services” through targeted ads.
Will I start seeing ads in WhatsApp?
No. Well, at least not in the usual banner ad style. However, WhatsApp is exploring ways to allow businesses to communicate with
customers. In the same way that you can interact with your bank via
SMS to check account balances or pay your cell phone bill with a text
message, WhatsApp wants you to receive information from business,
such as receipts for flight information.
The good news is, WhatsApp is (for now) continuing to put you in
control. It says, “We do not want you to have a spammy experience; as
with all of your messages, you can manage these communications,
and we will honor the choices you make.”
Time will tell if being part of Facebook will alter their stance on this, as
well.
Well. Certainly, I’ve got a lot of contacts on my whatsapp and I get a lot of messages daily so the idea of Ads on Whatsapp “hell no”. If you feel the same way about the new Whatsapp privacy policy, Fortunately, you can opt out and remove yourself from the whole situation very easily. Here’s how:
Open WhatsApp on your phone.
On Android , tap the action overflow button in the upper right
corner and select Settings . On iOS, tap the Settings tab in the
lower right corner.
Select Account .
Tap the check mark to the right of Share my account info .
To disable the feature, tap Don’t Share .
.
The pop-up that appears reads, “If you tap ‘Don’t Share’, you won’t be
able to change this in the future.” And they mean it.
On the bright side, your account information and app usage won’t be
shared with Facebook anymore. Though, it doesn’t say whether it has
already shared your information or whether, if shared, that information
will be deleted.
Michael Ajah is a Computer Science Student of The University of Port Harcourt and a Chelsea Fan. He loves RnB and a little mix of Trap Music. An awesome tech reviewer and analyst. Email - [email protected]
It has become a habit of applications to receive functionality in a non-uniform manner, especially with regard to different versions for Android and iOS. Not being the exception to the rule, Spotify also receives functionality at different times in its various versions.
After being released for the Android version last May, Spotify for iOS received finally the popular “Sleep Timer” feature. That is, iPhone users can also fall asleep listening to their favorite music / podcast without any problem.
How to use the new Spotify feature for iOS
To use the “Sleep Timer” feature is very simple. After selecting the desired song, you will need to click on the “three dots” icon in the upper right corner and select the “Sleep Timer” option.
Then you will only need to choose the timeout where Spotify will be playing the song. You will be able to choose times between 5 and 60 minutes.
Also, for whom doesn’t have a dedicated playlist for when you are getting ready for sleep, the app has also released a new section called “Sleep Hub”. Here you will find a wide list of perfect song suggestions to accompany you in a true “beauty sleep.”
If you still can’t see the functionality on your iPhone, don’t worry. It has been officially confirmed that the feature is being released starting today. However, as usual, it will reach users in a phased manner.
Google Photos remains one of my favorite apps, presenting itself as the perfect way to keep all your photos and videos organized in one place. In addition, they are accessible virtually anywhere and on any device.
As one of the most popular Google Apps, they continue to invest a lot of resources in developing and implementing new features. The latest addition will help you keep albums organized by making it easy to find what you’re really looking for.
A small detail that can save you a lot of time.
The new implementation may go unnoticed for many users, but it is no less important. In the albums tab, Google Photos will start displaying a new option, which allows you to organize your albums according to different conditions.
For now, at this early stage, you will be able to keep albums organized by what has the most recent photo, which you modified less recently or simply in alphabetical order. Most likely, Google will continue to develop this new implementation to make it even easier to find the album you want.
This new implementation is coming first hand to Android smartphone users and is not yet available for iOS or the web version. However, it is important to note that it is being launched through Google’s servers. That is, it will not reach all users at the same time.
In order to receive the new implementation, you need to have the latest version of the App, so make sure you don’t have any updates available.
Although it has not been officially confirmed, it is believed that once reaching all Android users, the new feature will eventually also be available for iOS and the web version of Google Photos.
