WhatsApp asked to review proposed privacy policy changes: Dhotre

WhatsApp has drawn massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with Facebook

The government has asked messaging firm Whatsapp to review its proposed privacy policy changes, Minister of State for IT and Communications Sanjay Dhotre informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

WhatsApp has drawn massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company, Facebook. WhatsApp, on its part, has maintained that messages on the platform are end-to-end encrypted and that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see the private messages on WhatsApp's platform.

"Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) took cognizance of the WhatsApp announcement of its new Privacy Policy stated to be applicable to Indian users. To safeguard the interest of Indian users, Meity has asked WhatsApp to review the proposed privacy policy changes and also to explain the rationale of the same," Dhotre said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Whatsapp has proposed its users to accept updated policy changes by May 15 if they want to continue using the app.