14 DAY TRIAL // Late last month, we reported that WhatsApp announced a new “feature” coming to the app, one that would require users to share their phone number with Facebook. Apparently, the new measure was taken in favor of more targeted advertising on the network and to fight spam.
Needless to say, WhatsApp users weren't pleased with the new feature and they quickly found a workaround that allowed them to disable the sharing feature within 30 days from installing or updating the app on their phones.
The measure would pose some security and privacy concerns, which meant that WhatsApp had to update its terms and privacy policy, which it did for the first time in four years. WhatsApp is one of the most secure chatting applications out there, with default message encryption and self-destruct messages, which make sure that no one can access conversations between users.
Since the app is focused on privacy and security, it's only normal for users to be concerned about this measure of sharing information with Facebook.
It seems that users from Germany no longer need to worry about this, since the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information ordered Facebook to delete user data shared from WhatsApp.
Facebook is willing to work with the Commission to resolve the issue
The report by Reuters mentions that Facebook was infringing the data protection law, as WhatsApp's 35 million users in Germany didn't provide effective approval for sharing their information.
"After the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook two years ago, both parties have publicly assured that data will not be shared between them," commissioner Johannes Caspar said in a statement.
"The fact that this is now happening is not only a misleading of their users and the public, but also constitutes an infringement of national data protection law," Caspar added. The Commission also said that Facebook and WhatsApp are independent companies that should process user data based on their own terms and conditions.
Facebook issued a statement saying that the company is working with the Hamburg DPA to resolve any concerns. Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion two years ago.