Home » Technology » How to quit WhatsApp?

How to quit WhatsApp?

As a complement to our article, “More privacy-friendly apps”, here’s a quick summary on how to quit WhatsApp and what should happen on May 15, when the new terms and conditions come into effect.

These new rules should require accepting the transfer, until now optional, of personal data (phone number, smartphone model, profile picture, frequency of use of the application, status, etc.) to Facebook. As for messages, they remain end-to-end encrypted, so WhatsApp cannot see their content.

In this case, Swiss users are integrated into the Europe zone and would therefore be protected, indirectly, by the European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Thanks to this, Facebook cannot, in principle, force its users to accept these changes with the threat, in the event of refusal, of losing access to its messaging service.

Limited access

So what will happen on May 15? Barring a new twist, the new WhatsApp rules will come into force that day. In his help Center, the messaging service describes what to expect if the user declines these changes.

“If you don’t accept them by the deadline, WhatsApp won’t delete your account. However, you will only have limited access to WhatsApp features until you accept them. For a short time, you will be able to receive calls and notifications, but you will not be able to read or send messages from the application, ”explains the Facebook subsidiary.

Delete your account

“If the only way to refuse this modification is to stop using the application, then the consent is vitiated and the processing of personal data illegal,” notes the Valais data protection officer, Sébastien Fanti.

Faced with this passage in force, the temptation to leave WhatsApp is great. But how should we proceed? Until the fateful date, you can export your chat history and upload a report to your account. You have to go to the settings in the “Account” sub-menu, make your request on the “Request account information” page. Once the request is validated, WhatsApp displays the expected date when the data can be downloaded.

Changing messaging is quite simple, the transfer does not require any elaborate technical manipulation. It remains to convince his interlocutors to change application. There are tutorials to help users migrate their conversations. To permanently quit WhatsApp, go to “Settings, then” Account “and finally” Delete my account “. Please note, this operation is irreversible.

from

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.