WhatsApp's move to change privacy policy pushed 5 percent of Indian users to delete the Facebook-owned messaging app, a survey has found. A majority of the respondents said that they would not use Whatsapp payment features and may discontinue business chat if the app shared information with Facebook and third parties.
The survey, conducted by online platform Localcircles around WhatsApp's new terms of service, covered more than 17,000 respondents across the country, which is the biggest market for the messaging platform. While 21 percent of respondents claimed that they were using alternative messaging apps actively, 22 percent said they have drastically cut the use of WhatsApp.
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"WhatsApp and Facebook must reconsider this feedback and make changes to their policy if they are serious about Whatsapp Pay becoming a key player in the UPI payments space in India. Currently, Google Pay, Phone Pe and Paytm have a majority of the market share in this segment," the survey said.
Around 92 percent people surveyed said they would not use Whatsapp payment features if it would share information with Facebook and third parties.
Around 79 percent respondents said that they were not likely to use Whatsapp Business Accounts if the instant messaging app decides to implement the policy in May.
The survey found that while 55 percent of citizens downloaded alternative apps, 21 percent were actively using it. "Many users may have already had the Signal and Telegram apps on their phones before the new Whatsapp policy changes were proposed," the report said.
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Early this month, WhatsApp informed users of an update in its terms of service and privacy policy regarding how it processes user data and partners with Facebook to offer integrations across the social media giant's products.
It also stated that users will have to agree to the new terms and policy by February 8, 2021, in order to continue using WhatsApp. However, the mobile messaging app later deferred the update to May in face of the severe backlash.
